Mai the Duel Queen
by Hector F123
Summary: What if Mai had not fallen for Yugi's bluff at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals? What if she had actually attacked and won when she could? A different decision on a single turn of a single duel leads to a vastly different universe, a universe ruled not by a Duel King, but rather by a Duel Queen!
1. The Point of Divergence

So here they are, fighting at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals, over a place in the final. Mai Valentine versus Yugi Muto. Yugi Muto versus Mai Valentine.

In her eyes, Yugi is the ideal duelist. He has all qualities that render a player perfect: talent, confidence, shrewdness, creativity and, most importantly, the admirable ability to retain his mental clarity even under the most adverse conditions (such as when he defeated Panic, despite the latter's mind games, thus getting back the star chips that that creep had essentially stolen from her).

Fighting him marks the culmination of her development both as a duelist and as a person over the years.

Though at the beginning of this duel, it felt like she was fighting someone who just looked like Yugi. Mai was not sure what caused Yugi to be off form in what is probably his most crucial game in this tournament, maybe even in his life! Had he underestimated her? Had he not got over his loss to Kaiba yet? Had he already set his mind to his imminent fight with Pegasus? Whatever it was, as a result, Yugi appeared distracted, playing disappointingly poorly, making serious mistakes, thus giving Mai a huge advantage.

Eventually, Mai's words woke Yugi up, albeit too late; Yugi had already lost his most powerful monsters (Gaia the Fierce Knight, Summoned Skull and Dark Magician) and his life points had been reduced to 300, whereas Mai's points remained unscathed. Even so, Yugi regained his fighting spirit and performed an impressive counter attack, producing a brilliant Catapult Turtle/Brain Control combo to destroy two of Mai's best cards (Mirror Wall and Harpy's Pet Dragon) and take away more than half her life points while he was at it!

But, as Mai had already said, it was too late. After Yugi's last move, the Catapult Turtle is left in attack mode. All Mai needs to do is destroy it with the Harpy and Yugi's life points will drop to zero.

Except there is this face down card he has played on the board! Could it... could it be a trap card?

Mai checks the cards in her hand. She has used up all her Harpy Feather Dusters. If Yugi's face down card turns out to be a trap, her Harpy will be destroyed. And Mai cannot afford that! That single monster is the cornerstone of her deck. She must keep it alive at all costs!

So... to attack or not to attack this turn? This is the most difficult decision she has ever had to make in her career as a duelist.

Mai looks forward. Yugi is staring at her with a smile of confidence. 'Go on, Mai. Conduct your battle phase,' he provokes her. Those piercing eyes! Is he... is he tempting her to attack?

Mai gulps, a bead of sweat appearing on her forehead and trickling down her cheek.

'Miss Valentine, I remind you that your turn will be over in one minute,' the referee declares at some point, reminding her that, according to the official rules, a duelist has five minutes per turn to make their move.

Mai gets a determined expression. 'Okay,' she cries. 'And now I will...'

She pauses for a moment. Yugi takes a neutral expression, in order to conceal his uneasiness. This is the moment of truth. Here goes nothing.

Mai almost said, '...not attack.' She bets that, in a parallel universe, she really spoke that sentence. However, in this universe, at that moment, some neuron in her mind functioned differently.

What if this is all just a bluff? She has already destroyed two trap cards of Yugi's (Spellbinding Circle and Mirror Force). What are the chances that he has a third one? She has watched Yugi duel a couple of times and, though she probably doesn't know every single card in his deck, she does not think she has ever seen him play any trap card other than those two. There is a good chance this is just a bluff!

Yugi is not the kind of duelist who gives second chances. If you give him even one turn to recover, he might pull off a miraculous comeback. If it turns out that that is a bluff and Mai loses in the end, she will never forgive herself for missing her chance to win. No, she must not allow that to happen! She must finish off Yugi now that she can. You cannot win against a great opponent by always being cautious; sooner or later, you have to take your chances!

'Harpy Lady, attack the Catapult Turtle,' Mai cries with a fierce expression.

For a moment, Yugi retains his nonchalant expression. It took him one moment to realize what has just transpired. For a fraction of a moment, his mind was in denial phase. Unconsciously, for a long time now, it has seemed inconceivable to him that he could ever... lose! He means, he has never lost! (Unless you count his duel with Kaiba, where he actually gave the victory away.)

No, no, just no! There is no way he, Yugi Muto, can lose a match fair and square. This is just unheard of! What he's experiencing right now has to be a dream or something. Yeah, that's right! A dream! He's still sleeping in his bed, in one of the chambers of Pegasuses castle. When he wakes up, he's going to kick butt and...

The next moment, the eyes of the undefeated so far duelist widen in the realization of the tragic truth as the Harpy strikes the Catapult Turtle with her whip. As it always happens whenever a monster is destroyed, a gentle, white light surrounds Yugi's turtle before the hologram breaks into one million tiny pieces that vanish soon afterward.

With his eyes bulging, Yugi shakes his head no in disbelief, unconsciously lowering his eyes to the screen, as if to desperately cling to the impossible possibility that there is some mistake. However, the counter showing his last 300 life points rapidly abandoning him at the moment leaves no room for doubt. Yugi has lost the game and there is nothing that he or his friends, for all their support, or anyone else can do about that.

Croquet, the grey haired, dressed in black bodyguard of Pegasus, who is also serving as a referee at these playoffs, raises his arm in the air, all fingers pointing upwards. 'And the winner is Mai Valentine,' he declares in a formal tone but also in a loud voice.

Yugi closes his eyes. He places his hands on the board that represents the duel field, where the cards are played for their holograms to be projected on the vast duel arena. He grips the edge of the board in despair.

Inside his head, his two minds, which are united into one mind when he duels, are now separate. Against a black background, the normal high school boy and the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle are conversing.

'Yugi,' the spirit says, his eyes lowered. 'I don't know what to say. I did what I could...'

'It's all my fault,' Normal Yugi closes his eyes, clenches his fists and bursts into sobs. 'If I had let you help me from the beginning... '

'No, don't blame yourself,' Yami Yugi cries, raises his eyes to his partner, extends his arms forward and shakes his head no. 'I got carried away during our duel with Kaiba and freaked you out. I was a jerk. I...'

'What does it matter whose fault it is?' Normal Yugi snaps and opens his tearful eyes. 'I'll never see grandpa again. NEVEEERR...'

'NEVEEER,' Yugi physically cries out loud the next moment as his body transforms back into the schoolboy's form. He becomes shorter, his eyes become larger and rounder and his voice gets lighter. He falls on his knees, slams his palms down on the floor and bursts into sobs physically.

'I'M AN IDIOT,' Normal Yugi screams, looking at the floor, with his eyes full of tears. 'If I had let him help me... if only I could go back in time...' He raises his hand, clenches his fist and slams it down on the hard floor, forcefully and repeatedly, ignoring the pain in his knuckles.

In the stands, Yugi's friends are staring, speechless, not knowing how to react.

'Yugi,' Tea finally breaks the silence, her hand on her chest.

'Dude, are you okay?' Joey calls out, worried, leaning against the railing.

Tristan and Bakura are just staring, with their mouths partly open, not knowing what to say.

High up, Pegasus, sitting on his throne like chair, arms and legs crossed, is smiling. 'So Yugi boy has lost,' he thinks. 'Who could have imagined? Not that it matters anyway. Whoever wins this tournament, in the end, I will be the only real winner. Everybody else loses!'

After making sure nobody is looking at him at the moment, he takes out the photo of his deceased lover, Cecelia, and has a furtive look at her. 'Wait some more, my love,' he says in his head, addressing her. 'Soon, we will be together once again.'

Then he gently wraps the photo in a white handkerchief and puts it back in his suit's pocket, right on his heart! He looks down below, where Yugi is still on his knees crying and Mai is standing across from him. He has to admit that it's surprising how exceptionally well that woman played today. Sure duel monsters is a game played by two players, sure one's performance depends to a great extent on their opponent's performance. Sure it helped Mai that her opponent was in bad shape. Still, though, Mai's game today was flawless, spectacular.

Thanks to his Millenium Eye, Pegasus knows everything that has gone on on the island since this tournament commenced. He knows everything about everyone that has participated in the Duelist Kingdom tournament or affected it in any other way. He knows everything that has transpired during all duels played on his island, everything every duelist has done since they set foot here. He saw them when they were sleeping, he knew when they were awake! He knows if they've been bad or good... and he doesn't care as long as his purposes are served! Therefore, he knows full well that the Mai that arrived on the Duelist Kingdom island two days ago, though undoubtedly skilled, was nowhere near as good as the Mai that is standing before him right now.

What has made her so much stronger in the meantime? Does her meeting Yugi have something to do with her growth as a duelist? Come to think of it, Kaiba boy, too, seemed a lot stronger during his second duel with Yugi, yesterday, right outside of the castle, than he had been during their first duel, a few weeks earlier. It seems that interacting with Yugi has a certain effect on most duelists. How amusing! Pegasus chuckles at those thoughts of his.

Down below, Mai closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She feels... strange. To her, defeating her role model, Yugi Muto, was the best thing that could happen to her. Yet, now that it has happened, now that her dream is a reality, she doesn't feel happy. She can't really enjoy it, she cannot really celebrate this victory.

And it's not hard to figure out why! She had been dreaming of an honorable duel. And what she got was not the duel she had been dreaming of. She fought Yugi with everything she had, expecting him to do the same. Yet he didn't. His body was here, in this arena, but his mind was God knows where. She tried everything she could to resuscitate him: she provoked him, she reminded him, she belittled his goofy friend, Joey, she opened her heart to him. Unfortunately, by the time Yugi had snapped out of whatever had been going on in his head, the duel was essentially already over.

Mai is disappointed. Yes, she just found the right word! Disappointed! That's what she is! She doesn't feel that she really defeated the great Yugi Muto today.

Oh, whatever. What is done is done. There is no point in looking back. What matters right now is that she is in the tournament's final, one step closer to her goal: to dethrone Pegasus and become the Duel Queen.

Nevertheless, she could try to console Yugi a little.

Mai walks over to Yugi, in her usual haughty and sexy manner. She stands next to the crying boy.

'Yugi, believe me, this is not the way I wanted my victory to occur,' she says solemnly, arms crossed.

Yugi keeps looking at the floor and crying. Did he hear Mai? Does he even know where he is anymore?

The older woman makes one more attempt to draw his attention. She crouches next to him. 'Don't feel bad,' she says, kinda more softly than before. 'Everyone has bad days. You obviously were not yourself today. Perhaps, later, after this tournament is over, when you feel better, we can have a friendly rematch somewhere in order to decide who is the better duelist between the two of...'

'SHUT UP!' Yugi cries, turning his head to Mai, palms and knees still on the floor. 'YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.'

Mai jumps to her feet and steps back, startled. Is this really Yugi talking? The usually timid and gentle Yugi?

The boy looks at her with anger. She dares say, even with hatred!

'Do you think I care whether I win or lose a stupid children's card game, you brainless bimbo?' he growls. 'You have no idea what is at stake here. My grandpa... Kaiba brothers... (sob)... Joey's sister... They all were counting on me. And I have failed them all!'

Mai stares at Yugi, her mouth partly open in shock. What the hell is this boy talking about?

After some more sobs, Yugi carries on: 'Pegasus is a madman. Unless someone stops him right now, he will wreak havoc on the whole world!'

He lowers his eyes, takes the golden pendant he's wearing in his hands and looks at it. 'Only the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle could stop him,' he now speaks more softly, though he's still crying. 'If I had let him help me. If I had let him duel alongside me. But I didn't. I prevented him from saving us all. Now we all lose, and it's my fault!'

He closes his eyes, lets out an inarticulate cry and bursts into sobs anew.

Mai sighs. She does not think she has understood any of what Yugi said. But, at the end of the day, how one takes defeat is none of anyone else's business. She's kinda disappointed to see her role model like that, but if he wants to react like a crybaby, so be it.

And if the only way for him and Pegasus to resolve whatever differences they had was to duel, then he'd better hope that Mai will defeat Pegasus for him. Because Mai intends to fight long and hard to reach and defeat the creator of the game, even if Yugi is sure that no one other than himself can do it!

The blonde, beautiful woman turns around and walks away.

Keeping his formal expression and himself distanced from the boy's emotional outburst, Croquet announces, 'And now, duelists Mai Valentine and Yugi Muto are kindly requested to leave the arena, so that the second duel of the semi finals may commence. Keith Howard versus Joey Wheeler.'


	2. We Both Are Losers

Yugi has now gone to meet his friends on the blacony with a view of the arena where they have been standing and watching so far.

'It's all my fault,' the boy cries for the umpenteenth time, looking at the floor. 'Now grandpa will never regain consciousness. Because of me! I killed him! I KILLED MY GRANDPA!'

Tea places her lovely hands on the boy's shoulders. 'Yugi, don't talk like that,' she softly tries to console him. 'Your grandpa would be proud of you. You came to this island, knowing full well beforehand that you would be at the mercy of that madman, Pegasus. You risked your life. You reached the semi finals in a tournament full of super strong, professional players, even though, up to a few weeks earlier, you had been just a no name. You did everything in your power to save your grandfather.'

'Don't sugarcoat it,' Yugi snaps in a rude manner so unlike him, causing his female besty to let out a girlie cry and jump back in startlement. He raises his tearful eyes to her: 'No matter what you say, it won't change the fact that my grandpa is essentially dead. My grandfather! The only family I have ever had!'

Some silence follows. Everybody is looking at the floor with grim expressions. None of Yugi's friends knows what to say. How are you supposed to console someone who has just lost their only family member in the world and, moreover, hold themselves responsible for it?

Finally, Joey breaks the silence. He sighs and places his hand on Yugi's shoulder, thus causing the shorter boy to look at him. 'Umm, Yug, I don't know whether that means anything to you, but I'm still in the tournament,' he says, without much enthusiasm nonetheless. 'Even though I have known since the beginning that you were the only one who had a chance of beating that white haired asshole, even though I know that my chances against him are as close to nil as they can get, I swear that I'll fight with everything I have and pray for a miracle...'

'No!' Yugi snaps, startling Joey. He wipes his tears with his sleeves, having finally started somewhat recovering from his prior emotional outburst, and carries on, 'Joey, I really wish for you to win the semi final and the final match and save your sister. But, please, promise me you will stop there.'

Everybody in the group partly open their mouths in surprise.

'Yugi... what are you saying?' Joey asks, dumbfounded.

'If you win this tournament, which I know you can,' Yugi carries on determinedly, 'settle for that. Take the three million yen prize so that your sister can have the eye surgery she needs in order not to remain blind forever. But, please please please, I'm begging you, don't make the insanity of proceeding to challenge Pegasus afterward! Please!'

'But... but, Yug,' Joey stutters. 'I...'

'Please, promise me you won't do it,' Yugi takes Joey's hands in his and looks him in the eye. 'I have already lost my grandpa. I don't want to lose my oldest friend as well. Please!'

Joey lowers his eyes, his hands still in Yugi's. 'I don't know, Yug,' he says, troubled. 'I don't want to be a coward. I, too, loved your grandfather. And I feel I owe him one. I mean, he taught me whatever little stuff I know about duel monsters, thanks to which I somehow reached this tournament's semi finals, even if it was essentially a miracle. He...'

'And what about your sister?' Yugi snaps, causing his blond friend to gasp. 'If you lose to Pegasus, you will wind up in the same condition as my grandpa and the Kaiba brothers! Who is going to pay for your sister's operation then?'

With his eyes widened, Joey looks at Yugi, silent. He admits he didn't consider that. Is he really willing to take that chance? He would gladly risk his own life without a second thought for the sake of Yugi or Yugi's loved ones. But has he asked his sister, Serenity, whether she, too, wants to risk her eyesight for the sake of Joey's friends? For the sake of people she has never met? And, even if Serenity said she is cool with that, would Joey want to jeopardize her whole future? To risk dooming his baby sis to a life of darkness, a life worse than death?

Joey takes a calmer expression, one of resignation. 'Okay, I see your point,' he sighs half heartedly. 'I promise that, even if I win this tournament, I won't challenge Pegasus.'

'Thanks, Joey,' Yugi lets go of his friend's hands and smiles, wiping his last tear. 'That means a lot to me.'

* * *

Keith Howard, aka Bandit Keith, yawns, having just woken up after a nap. He finds himself on a sofa, his head on one arm of the luxurious piece of furniture and his boots on the other. He turns his head. Is this the duel hall in Pegasuses castle? Now he remembers. He dozed off.

Keith slightly raises his dark glasses in order to have a better look around. The duel arena is empty. He must have slept through the whole first semi final. So who won? That Mai babe? Or that Yugi brat? Oh, who cares? As if a high school boy whose body forgot to hit puberty or a stupid blondie could ever stop him. No matter which of those two faces him in the final, Keith will crush him or her. No one will stand between him and his long sought revenge on Pegasus!

As for the semi final, it is already won! Keith takes out the card he stole from Joey last night, the Glory of the King's Hand. He looks at the picture on it, an enormous amount of gold. Ahh, gold! Wealth. Money. Dough. No matter what you call it, Keith will soon get his hands on plenty of it. Without that card, Joey does not even have the right to fight in the semi finals in the first place. Not that he would ever stand a chance against Keith if they got to fight, mind you! How can a blond no name ever defeat the unstoppable USA champion? The only person that has ever defeated him is the creator of the game himself, and that was only because he cheated.

Keith chuckles. Ain't it funny that he is going to qualify for the final match of the Duelist Kingdom without having fought a single duel in this tournament? He took by force the star chips of his lackeys when the latter had outlived their usefulness, then he stole a card that he would have had in the first place if he had really been invited to this championship. He sure lives up to his nickname, Bandit!

Well, who cares how he does it, as long as he reaches Pegasus? That lousy cheater deprived him of more than a monetary prize that day at the intercontinental cup. He stripped him of his pride, the feeling that he was somebody.

Because, before duel monsters were invented by the aforementioned cheater a few years ago, Keith was nothing! A deadbeat with no college degree, no real prospects in life, no real skills other than his muscular strength and his underworld connections, Keith was kicked out of his parents' home at a young age. His father went as far as to call the police on him!

For a long time, Keith would make a living by getting involved in illegal activities, such as protection rackets, drug deals and gambling. It was only when he started playing duel monsters, though, that he became really rich. When he first heard about that game, he laughed it off. He disregarded it as a 'children's card game'.

The first few times he played, he did so just for the fun of it, because he had nothing better to do at that moment. He could never have imagined how good he was gonna become at this game.

And then, before he knew it, he was rich and famous. He was finally somebody, not the useless meatbag his parents had always called him! He wishes they hadn't died in the meantime, not because he loved them, but because he wanted to rub his success in their face.

That's why he despises Pegasus. Because the way that rich boy humiliated him at the intercontinental cup that day took away from him the right to see himself as something better than what his parents had always believed he was.

That loss devastated him to such an extent that he even did drugs a few times!

At those memories, he raises his eyes to Pegasus. Look at that scumbag sitting on his throne up there, arms and legs crossed, as if he determines everybody else's lives, acting all high and mighty, just because he was born rich and never had to struggle for a living the way Keith did. Who does he think he is?

'Just you wait, Pegasus,' Keith thinks, trying to repress a growl.

* * *

'So, Keith, time to get your stupid butt off the couch so that we can duel,' Joey says impatiently.

However, instead of getting up, the USA champion makes himself comfortable, placing his arm on one of the sofa's cushions. He turns to his opponent, his eyes momentarily gleaming behind his dark glasses.

'Heh. Wanna bet that I can beat you without taking my stupid butt, as you put it, off the couch?' he asks with an enigmatic smile.

'Huh?' Joey and Yugi give the sturdy man baffled looks. What is that jerk saying?

Keith turns to Croquet. 'Hey, referee guy,' he calls out. 'If I'm not mistaken, to duel in the semi finals, one has to possess at least one of the two cards that all tournament participants received the day they were invited. Right?'

'That's right, Mister Howard,' Croquet nods with a neutral expression. 'The Glory of the King's Hand and the Glory of the King's Opposite Hand.'

'So here is mine,' Keith flashes his Glory of the King's Hand, in a manner as if he's doing it more for Joey to see it rather than for the referee to see it. 'Now shows us yours, blondie.'

'No problem,' Joey replies determinedly and starts fumbling for his stolen card in his pocket.

Soon, though, his determined expression is replaced by a worried one. A bead of sweat appears on his forehead, in a manner that would be funny if the situation was not so dire. He searches all his pockets, those of his suit as well as those of his trousers.

'Umm, just wait a sec. It must be here somewhere,' he says anxiously as he even removes his shoes, in case he finds the missing card in there!

Tea closes her eyes and sighs, holding her nose in disbelief. 'Oh, boy. He would lose even his head if it wasn't attached to the rest of his body,' she unconsciously comments, before she realizes the next moment that this is no time for jokes, that Joey having lost his card is disastrous!

'Calm down, Joey. Just try to remember the last time you saw it,' Tristan tries to help.

'Great advice,' Joey thinks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

'It's okay, Joey. Take mine,' Yugi gives his card to his friend. 'I no longer need it anyway.'

'No!' Croquet calls out, coldly pointing his finger in a prohibiting manner. 'This is forbidden, Mister Muto. Mister Wheeler has to display his own card, or else he will be disqualified.'

'But... but I have lost it,' Joey admits, trembling.

'You have five minutes to find it,' Croquet declares with no emotion.

'FIVE MINUTES?' Tea shrieks. 'This is unfair. He won't even be able to get back to his room in such a short time.'

'Five minutes,' the referee insists and starts looking at his watch.

'RUN, JOEY,' Tristan screams.

No need to tell him twice! The blond duelist is already lost from view.

'Heh. Run as fast as you want, blondie,' Keith thinks, turning his head and putting his hands under it.

High up, a smile of amusement forms on Pegasuses face. He knows that Keith has stolen Joey's card. Even if he didn't have the Millenium Eye, he would still be able to tell. I mean, it is obvious from how confident Keith is that Joey won't find the card. He's surprised that no one else has figured it out. Then again, maybe they all are too panicked to think clearly right now. How amusing!

Should Pegasus expose Keith? Nah. Why should he bother? Besides, it's not like Joey boy stood a chance against Keith anyway. That incident just saved Pegasus the trouble of watching a boring, one sided duel.

* * *

Joey is rampaging around his room, turning over everything in his way, desperately looking for his qualification card. He has searched everywhere: under his bed sheets, under his bed, in drawers, in closets. Where the hell can that fucking piece of paper be? Joey clutches his head, pulls his hair and lets out an inarticulate cry of despair.

* * *

The seconds are passing one after another, sadistically fast. Joey's friends are helplessly standing, silent. Everything in the enormous hall is so quiet right now that our heroes can almost hear Croquet's watch ticking! Every tick bringing Joey one step closer to disqualification.

And maybe, for Joey's friends, time is running fast, but for Bandit Keith, time is annoyingly slow. These are the slowest, most boring five minutes of his life. Why don't they disqualify that Joey sucker already?

'Two minutes left,' Croquet declares indifferently, eliciting gasps from Joey's group.

'Already?' Tea whispers, her hand on her heart.

'Two whole minutes?' Keith groans in a low voice.

Let's see, how can we kill some time till the inevitable disqualification of the blond boy? Let's make fun of his crew!

Still lying on the couch, Keith raises his eyes to the blacony which Joey's friends are standing on. 'Admit it, folks,' he calls out with a chuckle. 'Joey never really lost his card.'

'What are you trying to say, Keith?' Tristan cries, clenching his fists.

The American duelist slightly lowers his glasses and gives the schoolboy a provocative look. 'I'm saying that he knew he stood no chance against me, so he came up with an excuse to avoid a humiliating defeat.'

'ENOUGH!' Yugi snaps. His puzzle glows with a white light and he transforms into his Yami self in an instant, in anger. 'KEITH!' Yami Yugi points at him. 'I forbid you to talk like that about Joey. He's a fine duelist. He would never run away from a fight.'

'Your friend is a worthless player who came this far in this tournament only because you were telling him how to play,' Keith closes his eyes, turns his head and assumes a supine lying position, hands under nape, with a carefree smile. 'Believe me, right now, Joey is not looking for the Glory of the King's Hand but rather for a place to cower in fear.'

'Why... you...' Yugi whispers, clenching his fists.

* * *

In a corridor of the castle, Joey falls on his knees.

'I'M SO STUPID,' he yells at himself, bursting into sobs and slamming his hammerfists down on the red carpet.

He stays there, crying, looking at the floor, having lost all hope. 'I'm sorry, Serenity,' he sobs, addressing his sister, even though she's not there. 'I have failed you. You will remain blind for the rest of your life. Because I was so stupid and careless as to lose a card. The only card that I should by no means have lost! I don't deserve to be your brother. I don't even deserve to live!'

To think that it will all end this way! It could be funny if it happened to someone else. Joey, a low level duelist who, up to a few weeks ago, could not even defeat Tea in a duel, somehow managed to reach this island, to miraculously outplay experienced, professional players, to survive deadly traps of that Pegasus psycho, only to be disqualified because of a stupid, bureaucratic rule!

* * *

With only a few seconds left, everybody in Joey's group are in tears, having finally accepted the inevitable.

Croquet looks at his watch one last time. He raises his arm in an official manner.

'The five minutes are up,' he declares. 'Joey Wheeler is disqualified. Keith Howard wins by default and advances to the final round of the Duelist Kingdom tournament.'

'See?' Keith turns his head to Joey's friends. 'I told you I would win without getting my butt off this couch!'

Yami Yugi growls, further tightening his fists, his hands almost hurting. He wants to mind crush that jerk. He wants it so bad! Unfortunately, he can't mind crush someone unless he defeats them in a game first.

Well, theoretically, he can, nothing prevents him from doing so, but, for some reason, he doesn't deem it right. Perhaps some sort of ancient moral code is subconsciously remembered by him, even though he has lost his memories of his life in Ancient Egypt.

* * *

Joey is still on the same spot of the corridor, kneeling and crying. He doesn't have a watch, he has lost track of time, but he is at least able to tell that, by now, he has got disqualified.

He feels two hands on his shoulders. He raises his head and sees Yugi, back in his schoolboy form, kneeling in front of him, his eyes as full of tears as Joey's.

'We both have failed our loved ones, Yug,' Joey sobs, wiping a tear.

'We both are losers,' Yugi nods with a smile.

A smile! A tearful one, but still a smile. A smile that Joey reciprocates.

The two besties start laughing! At first tentatively. Eventually, their laughs become hearty, carefree!

Still kneeling, they hug each other and burst into laughter! Their despair has got the best of them. They have stopped caring!

* * *

'The final match shall commence in one minute,' Croquet declares. 'The two finalists are kindly requested to step at the duel arena.'

Tristan looks around, somewhat worried. Yugi has been missing for a while. Are he and Joey okay? Perhaps he should go and check on them.

He taps Tea on the shoulder. 'Umm, I'm going to find Yugi and Joey,' he informs her. 'Will you come?'

'No,' the girl shakes her head and looks at the arena with a solemn expression. 'I want to stay here and support Mai.'

'Huh? How come?' Tristan raises an eyebrow.

'Well, someone has to stay here and root for our frie...'

Tea abruptly interrupts that sentence when she realizes what she was about to say. She blushes.

Tristan smiles meaningfully and nudges her. 'So you consider Mai your friend? I thought you two hated each other's guts!'

'Well,' Tea places her hands behind her back and jerks her leg in an attempt to act cool, 'we're not exactly besties. But we did spend some quality girl time that night in the tent.'

'Okay. Cheer for her on my behalf too,' Tristan winks and runs to find Joey and Yugi.

Tea's eyes back to the arena, where the two finalists have taken their place at their respective boards, across from each other.

Mai is waiting for the referee to announce the beginning of the duel, arms crossed, a determined expression on her face. She's a little disappointed that Joey has been disqualified and, moreover, in such a dishonorable manner. She really hoped that she would get to have a rematch with that thickhead so that she would avenge her loss to him in the first round of the tournament.

Oh, whatever, now focus on the opponent right before you, girl!

Bandit Keith has a good look at the woman in front of him. What a babe! He licks his lips. 'How about you give up, sweetheart?' he suggests, slightly lowering his glasses with a flirty smile. 'I hate to have to sadden your beautiful face by crushing you in a duel. I promise that, if you resign now, when I have got the prize money, I will take you with me to a cruise.'

'Fuck off!' Mai snaps, arms still crossed, her expression not changing.

Keith snorts, kinda angry, kinda disappointed, but he retains his smile nonetheless. 'Then you leave me no choice,' he sighs, raising his glasses back to their original position. 'Tonight, honey, you are dancing. In America!'

'I thought it's dancing in Hell,' Mai comments indifferently.

'Same difference,' Keith chuckles. 'There is no greater hell than America. Believe me. I have lived all my life there and I know.'

Mai sighs. 'Are you here to duel, honey, or do you intend to just babble on about bullsh...'

Suddenly, she feels an intense migraine. She gasps and clutches the right side of her forehead. Everything seems to go dark for a moment.

What... what is happening to her? And why did it, whatever it is, have to happen now of all times? Now that she was about to kick the butt of that asshole and win the Duelist Kingdom tournament?

'What's wrong, Mai?' Tea calls out. 'Pull yourself together. Beat that creep! I know you can do it!'

Mai turns her head to the balcony. Heh. So Tea is here! The two women smile at each other. Mai nods to her frenemy.

Then she turns back to Keith, more determined than ever.

'The final match of the Duelist Kingdom tournament begins,' Croquet declares in a loud voice. 'Mai Valentine versus Keith Howard.'


	3. Let the Slots Spin

Tristan sees Yugi and Joey, on their knees, hugging each other in the corridor. Wait, are they... laughing?

'Umm, guys, are you okay?' the short haired lad scratches his head.

Without standing up or letting go of each other, Joey and Yugi turn to him.

'Never been better, Tris,' Joey cries cheerfully.

Normally, Tristan would get mad at Joey for calling him Tris (because he considers it a feminine nickname) and they would initiate one of their friendly fist fights. But now he's freaking out. Should he worry?

'Yugi... Joey... is there... is there something I can do for you?' he asks with uncertainty.

'Sure, Tristan,' Yugi raises one arm, continuing to hug his blond friend only with the other, and waves to him. 'Come here and join us. We're having a blast!'

'Guys, please, stop!' Tristan cries as he's kneeling next to them. 'You're freaking me out!'

'Why are we freaking you out, Tris?' Joey chuckles, struggling to hold back his tears, which are about to begin rolling out of his eyes anew.

'Joey is right, Tristan,' Yugi adds. 'You have no reason to freak out. We're just two friends having a good time!' He laughs out loud, as if to make his point, only to unwillingly burst into sobs the next moment!

Equally unwillingly, Joey follows his friend's lead.

The two disqualified duelists bury their respective faces in each other's arms, rivers or tears rolling down their cheeks.

Tristan sighs and hugs both of them. 'Everything will be fine in the end, dudes,' he whispers. He so wishes he believed that!

* * *

And so, after so many exciting battles, the final match of the Duelist Kingdom tournament begins. Mai Valentine versus Bandit Keith. Bandit Keith versus Mai Valentine.

Pegasus looks indifferently down below at the two duelists. He knows everything about both of them. They both are professional, highly experienced players. They both have made a lot of money out of this game, though in different ways.

For years, Bandit Keith has collected monetary prizes awarded to the winners of big events such as this one.

As for Mai, having taken several jobs at cruise ships' casinos, she has made a considerable amount of cash by placing bets and defeating rich men in duel monsters, thanks to her indisputable gaming skills, her aroma tactics as well as her opponents usually being distracted by her good looks and... err, revealing outfits!

Pegasus chuckles. Neither of those two stands a ghost of a chance against him!

As the two opponents are drawing their respective 5 card starting hands, they are lost, each of them in their own thoughts.

'Darn, perhaps I shouldn't have slept through the first semi final,' Keith thinks. 'Maybe I should have watched it. If I had done so, now I would have some idea of what that chick's strategy is.' Oh, whatever. How good can a blonde bimbo be anyway? Keith bets that she made it that far only because her opponents were drooling over her. But that won't work on him! He can always rape a good looking woman at his leisure later, but, during a duel, he's always focused. During a duel, he's not a male; during a duel, he's just a duelist!

Meanwhile, Mai is thinking about Joey's sister. Tea told her the story, that night in the tent. It's sad that that thickhead's sister will remain blind forever after all. But that's life. It is neither Mai's fault nor her problem. Sure she's sad. She's not insensitive or a bad person. But no sane person would ever give three million yen to help someone they don't know. No one will blame her. Right? When she has won this tournament, she can just take the prize money and enjoy the good life with no remorse.

'Then why do I feel so fucking bad?' she whispers.

Croquet interrupts her thoughts: 'And now, a coin will be tossed to decide which of you two will go first.'

Pegasuses bodyguard produces a coin. He looks at Keith first.

'I call heads,' the USA champion declares. And, turning to Mai, he adds, 'Because I'm gonna have your head in this duel.'

Mai rolls her eyes. 'I guess it's tails for me then,' she sighs.

Croquet tosses the coin, which, after several flips, ends up on the floor. The grey haired man crouches and looks at it. 'Heads,' he informs the two competitors. 'Therefore, Mister Howard shall make the first move in this duel.'

Since Keith gets to make the first move, he will skip his draw phase on the first turn. So, without further ado, he checks the 5 cards he has already drawn. A smile forms on his face.

'Perfect!' he thinks. 'I have already drawn the Slot Machine. When it's time to attack, I'll start equipping it with the 7 Completed spell cards hidden in my wristbands. This duel will be over before that chick can say Jack Robinson! Not that there is any chance that that Japanese chick knows who Jack Robinson is.'

The USA champion inwardly chuckles at his own joke before looking forward and declaring his move.

'First, I set 1 card.'

One of the squares on Keith's field starts emitting a flickering light, a sign that a face down card has been placed.

'Next, I summon the Slot Machine (2000/2300) in defense mode.'

The monster appears on the field; a golem who is entirely golden colored, barring its purple, faceless head. Its torso looks like a slot machine. The monster slightly leans over in order to take a defensive position.

'My turn,' Mai cries and draws. She looks at her cards. Darn! There is not a Harpy in her starting hand. Well, she guesses she can't expect to always draw the cards she wants right off the bat now that she has abandoned her 'aroma tactics'. Thankfully, she has in her deck plenty of cards that can bring that monster to her!

'I play the Harpy's Brother (1800/600) in defense mode.'

A greenish skinned, human formed monsters appears. He has black hair, in an extreme hairstyle like Yugi's, and large, red wings. He's wearing a red eye mask, a black vest and jeans. The monster kneels down into a defensive position.

'As his name indicates, this charming guy is the brother of the Harpy,' Mai explains. 'And he cannot do without his baby sis. He loves her so much!'

The Harpy's Brother raises his hands to the level of his mouth, forms a makeshift loudspeaker with them and lets out an eerie cry. As a result, small masses of green smoke come out of Mai's deck. The masses eventually begin to take shape, until they coalesce into the well known Harpy Lady! Pale skin, a long, red mane, green wings, purple feathered legs and sharp, yellow talons in place of hands and feet. The female monster opens her winged arms and feathery legs and lets out her usual eerie yet somewhat feminine howl, as if to greet her master, Mai, before landing on a square and settling down into a more proper, elegant position.

'See? Whenever he arrives at the party, he always calls her too! Such a loving, caring bro!' Mai adds a smiling wink for emphasis.

'Just finish your fucking move,' Keith rolls his eyes behind his dark glasses.

'Fine,' Mai snaps, taking a more determined expression. 'I play the spell card Harpy's Wardrobe.' (**ORIGINAL CARD OF MINE!**)

She places on the board a spell card depicting a greenish wardrobe made of rough wood, with horns on its top. 'It allows me to take up to 2 equip spell cards from my deck and equip them to a Harpy monster on the field.'

Mai equips the Harpy with the Cyber Shield and Rose Whip spell cards. Her torso is covered by armor while a whip appears in her hand. As a result, her ATK points increase from 1300 to 2100.

'Unfortunately, it's still not enough to penetrate the Slot Machine's defense,' Mai contemplates before setting 1 card and ending her turn.

Meanwhile, back at the stands, Bakura seems to have grown bored of the duel. An evil smile forms on his lips for a moment.

Tea caught a glimpse of it. Was it just her? Is she... is she seeing things?

'Umm,' the white haired teenager scratches his head, his face back to the expression of the polite, timid, British mannered boy she and her friends have always known. 'I think I'll go to see what is taking Tristan and the others so long.'

'Huh?' Tea turns her head. 'Oh, okay.'

Bakura runs away. As if he's in a hurry. Tea does not give this much more thought, for her attention is soon back at the duel.

'My turn,' Keith declares and draws a card, which he surreptitiously swaps for one of the 7 Completed cards in his wristbands. In fact, he could take out all three of his 7 Completed cards right now in the same manner and equip them to the Slot Machine, thus increasing its ATK points to 4100! But playing all three of them at once would be too suspicious.

'And now, I play the spell card 7 Completed and equip it to the Slot Machine.'

One of the reels in the monster's torso starts spinning rapidly and stops when it reaches a red design of the number 7. The monster's ATK points jump from 2000 to 2700.

Mai seems a little worried.

'I switch the Slot Machine into attack mode,' Keith carries on as he turns his monster card on the board from a horizontal into a vertical position.

On the field, the Slot Machine fully straightens its body.

'Slot Machine, attack the Harpy. Plasma Laser Canon!'

The Slot Machine extends one arm (the one that looks like a canon) forward and begins charging a blast.

'I activate my set card,' Mai suddenly cries. 'Mirror Wall. I can activate it when a female monster is on my field. Because women like being pretty! But, mind you, them looking at their reflection when combing their hair is far from this mirror's only use, honey!'

A glass wall appears that extends across Mai's field from side to side, protecting her monsters. The Slot Machine's reflection can be seen in the glass.

Keith raises an eyebrow.

'Your Slot Machine is going to hit its own reflection,' Mai smiles as Keith's machine monster keeps charging its attack. 'As a result, its ATK power will be reduced by half, whereas my monsters are completely safe! And it's too late to cancel your attack!'

Keith smiles. 'I activate my own set card. Solemn Judgement!'

The male duelist's trap card depicts an old, eyeless (!), white bearded sage. He's wearing a white robe and his arm is raised in a prohibitive manner.

'I have to pay half my life points to activate it, but it's worth it,' Keith explains as his life points decrease to 1000. 'Because now the permanent trap card you intended to gutlessly hide behind for the rest of the duel goes bye bye!'

Mai lets out a girlie gasp. The Mirror Wall shatters.

'Mhahaha, without your glass shield to protect them, your monsters are worthless,' Keith cries provocatively. 'SLOT MACHINE, CARRY OUT THE ATTACK!'

The machine monster's laser ray hits the Harpy, piercing her heart! The holographic stream of blood spurting out of her chest seems so real that it causes Mai to feel that she has just lost a loved one! The female monster lets out a holler of pain before its body shatters into one million tiny pieces.

With a lost expression, the blonde duelist is staring at the square where her monster used to be, as her life points decrease to 1400.

'Mai, pull yourself together,' Tea calls out, leaning against the railing.

'I lost my Harpy,' Mai whispers to herself, her hand on her huge, sexy breasts. She can almost feel the pain her Harpy Lady felt when she was struck in the chest.

The female duelist lowers her eyes, places her hands on the board and grips its edge in desperation, her gritted teeth visible.

That was the only monster she should never have let die. She can't even begin to count how many duels she has won in the past just because Harpy, her trustworthy servant, was on the field. How is she supposed to fight now?

Amused at Mai's expression, Keith crosses his arms, tosses his head back and bursts into a booming laugh. 'MHAHAHAHA, have you at last realized that you can't win, babe? Give it up, already.'

* * *

Bakura is roaming the castle's dungeons, with an expression totally different from before, the Millenium Ring hanging down from his neck glowing ominously.

He likes the ambience of this place. Hmm, is this skeleton over there real? The current Bakura sure hopes so!

Now that everybody up in the castle is busy with trivial things such as children's card games and protecting loved ones, he has got the perfect chance to find Pegasuses prisoners, or should he say their empty shells, for their souls are somewhere where no mortal can go!

He has to find at least one of them. He needs one of those bodies. Not of course because he aspires to live as a multi billionaire, but because he needs a new host. That Bakura kid he's currently possessing, for all his cowardice, is growing harder and harder to handle. To make matters worse, his failed attempt to get the Millenium Puzzle two days ago, when he trapped the souls of Normal Yugi, Normal Bakura and their friends into cards, exposed him.

At the end of that sadistic duel, Yugi and his friends thought they had destroyed him. What they don't know is that he cannot be destroyed. Fools! How can one destroy darkness? Darkness is something timeless. It already existed before anything else, even the Gods, were created.

Still, though, Yami Bakura can sense it, they're still suspicious. It never hurts to be safe. So, until the time is right to make his next move, he'd better hide in a new host, someone no one would ever suspect.

'Hey, you,' a heavy, male voice is heard.

Bakura turns his eyes slightly, just enough to see some dressed in black security guards running towards him.

'Annoying pests,' he mumbles and keeps walking, as if nothing is happening.

'HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU,' a guard yells, having lost his patience.

Bakura stops walking and turns his head. The security guards stop, waiting to see whether they can resolve this in a peaceful manner.

'Fuck off, pathetic mortals,' Bakura laughs, turns his head back to its original position and resumes walking.

'Don't move,' one of the guards shouts, angry. They pull their guns.

Bakura sighs. He turns around. He takes out his dueling deck.

'You're gonna fight us with cards?' one of the guards laughs. 'This isn't a duel monsters arena, kid. Just go back upstairs before you get hurt.'

'Everywhere is a duel monsters arena when you fight with real monsters,' Bakura laughs like a madman, draws a card and raises it in the air. 'MAN EATER BUG, I SUMMON YOU!'

A white, shapeless spirit comes out of the card. The shocked men are watching it as it gradually grows in size, becomes darker and takes shape. Finally, the monster lands on its feet, causing the floor to vibrate. It's a dark colored insect, over three meters tall, with horns on the head, with red, expressionless eyes and sharp teeth, which it bares right now with a terrifying growl.

'What... what is that thing?' one of the men cries, freaked out.

Panicked, the guards start shooting it all together. The place is drowned in the sounds of a barrage. However, the bullets ricochet off the giant insect's hard exoskeleton.

The Man Eater Bug leans over and grabs one of the men with its huge claws. The aforementioned man screams, flailing arms and legs in vain, as the bug wide opens its mouth. Then it straightens its body and tosses its head back, chewing that man to death. Crunching sounds are heard. Blood and parts of that man's internal organs splatter everywhere.

The other men scream in horror. They try to run away, but none of them shall escape.

'Send them all to the graveyard, Man Eater Bug,' Bakura laughs triumphantly.


	4. Growing into Your Own Duelist

Arms and legs crossed, Maximillion Pegasus, the ruler of the Duelist Kingdom, is watching the final match of the tournament he's hosting. Mai Valentine versus Bandit Keith.

Right now, the duel seems to be going in Keith's favour. It seems that the loss of her favourite monster, the Harpy, has taken a certain toll on that woman. Can she really go on after that? Even Pegasus is not sure.

Reading her mind, he can see that the Harpy has always fought alongside Mai. Together, they achieved many great victories. That monster has come to be more than an ally to Mai; the Harpy is essentially the besty Mai never had.

Perhaps, past a point, the role the Harpy would play in Mai's duels was more harmful than beneficial; Mai became the Harpy's duelist rather than grow into her own duelist.

Anyway, not that Pegasus cares about any of that. By the way, where is Yugi boy? Has he not got over his loss yet? Oh, whatever. In the mental condition Yugi is right now, it is easy for Pegasus to take the Millenium Puzzle from him anytime. He'll deal with that boy at his leisure later. For the time being, let's enjoy this match.

With empty eyes, Mai is looking at her deck. She lets out a sigh.

'Har har, come on, babe, just place your hand on the deck,' Keith feels the need to remind her how the surrender gesture is made. 'It's a matter of one second.'

'Mai, what's got into you?' Tea shouts, drawing the attention of her frenemy.

'Huh?' Mai turns her head, with a lost expression.

'You defeated Yugi,' Tea reminds her. 'You owe it to him to go all the way. If you give up now, he will feel even worse for having lost to you.'

Mai's eyes widen. Tea's right! Yugi never gave up. When he dueled her, he didn't give up, not even when his life points had decreased to 300, not even when he had lost his own favourite monster, the Dark Magician. If Mai shows lack of courage now, how will she face her role model ever again? What is she supposed to tell him?

Every duelist has a favourite monster, one they share a special bond with. But this is different from depending on that monster forever. If you do that, your favourite monster, too, will be sad and disappointed; it will stop supporting and trusting you.

Mai takes a determined expression. She nods to Tea, eliciting a smile from the latter. 'Thanks for casting my doubts away, baby girl,' the blonde finalist thinks, without admitting it out loud.

With a new flame burning in her eyes, Mai turns back to Keith. 'So, are you done with your fucking turn?' she asks provocatively, arms crossed.

'Grr, persistent chick,' Keith mumbles before setting 1 card and ending his turn.

'My turn,' Mai cries and draws. She looks at her new card. Amazoness Chain Master! Good. Perhaps this could help.

'I set 1 card. Then I play the Amazoness Chain Master (1500/1300) in attack mode.'

A female monster appears on Mai's field. It is a muscular but beautiful woman with grey hair, tied in a ponytail. A blue garment made of animal skin covers her torso, leaving her sexy limbs exposed. The woman plays with the chain weapon she's wielding in a skillful way, as if to make her entrance more impressive.

'Then I play a spell card. Amazoness Spellcaster! This will switch the ATK points of my Amazoness Chain Master and your Slot Machine for this turn!'

Mai places her spell card on the board. It depicts a really old woman that looks like a witch from some primitive tribe. Her hands are clasped together in front of her wrinkled face.

Mai smiles. Heh! Combine this spell card with any Amazoness monster you like and you can take down any monster your opponent plays against you, leaving them virtually dead while you are at it! Even Kaiba's Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon would go down with this combo! Men! Such simplistic creatures, always going for raw strength. Girl power!

'Sorry, honey,' Keith chuckles. 'But it's time to activate my set card. Magic Jammer!'

Mai gasps as Keith reveals his trap card, which depicts a green hexagram with dark purple smoke coming out of it. 'I discard 1 card from my hand and negate the activation of your spell card,' Keith explains. 'And the best part is that you have already played your monster in attack mode! Now nothing will protect your life points from my next attack, HAR HAR.'

'Oh, no, Mai,' Tea cries desperately, gripping the railing.

'I... end... my turn,' Mai declares tentatively, a bead of sweat on her forehead.

Keith draws a card, looks at it and subsequently activates it.

'I play the spell card Graceful Charity.'

A spell card that depicts a smiling (most likely female) angel. It allows Keith to draw 3 cards, then he has to discard 2. During that exchange, Keith surreptitiously swaps one of his cards for a 7 Completed card in his wristband. This duel has dragged on for too long. Time to end it!

'I equip a second 7 Completed to my Slot Machine,' Keith cries as he forcefully places his spell card on the board. In the same manner as before, one of the reels in the Slot Machine's torso spins until it reaches a 7. The monster gains 700 more ATK points, its total ATK points now being 3400!

'Oh, no,' Tea thinks, a bead of sweat trickling down her lovely cheek. 'If Mai's monster gets hit by that, she'll take 1900 points of damage and her life points will drop to zero. Now what?'

'It's all over,' Keith inwardly chuckles. Mai has a face down card, but, from her expression, Keith can tell that the Amazoness Spellcaster card, the activation of which he negated, was that chick's last hope of winning this duel. Her face down card is obviously a desperate bluff. Nothing to be afraid of!

'Slot Machine!' he bellows. 'Attack! Plasma Laser Canon!'

'W-wait,' Mai stutters. 'I activate my face down card. Grave Arm.'

It is a spell card depicting a creepy arm coming out of the ground. 'It allows me to destroy one monster on my field,' Mai explains.

The same arm depicted on the card comes out of the square on the field right below the Amazoness Chain Master, grabs her and goes back underground, dragging her with it. As a result, the blast the Slot Machine fired misses its target and Mai's life points are safe for this turn.

Keith crosses his arms and laughs. 'You are destroying your own monsters to save your life points. You must be desperate.'

'Not quite,' Mai smiles. 'You see, I didn't destroy the Amazoness Chain Master merely to avoid losing. This monster has a special ability!'

Right on cue, the chain the amazoness was wielding emerges from the square where that monster was buried moments ago and reaches Keith's deck!

'When that monster is destroyed by a card effect, I get to add 1 monster card from your deck to my hand,' Mai explains. 'You're right, Keith. I don't have any cards in my deck that can win against your Slot Machine. But maybe YOU do!'

'WHAT?' Keith's glasses fall off, revealing his bulging eyes. 'THAT'S NOT FAIR!'

However, the platform that represents the deck zone on Keith's board turns over. Almost the next moment, Keith's deck appears on Mai's board. The woman takes the deck in her hands and casually starts browsing through his cards, humming in order to further irritate him.

'PUT MY CARDS DOWN,' Keith hollers, pointing a finger. 'I forbid you to lay your filthy, cum stained hands on them, whore.'

'Mister Howard, her move is totally legal,' Croquet informs him with his usual, cold expression. 'If you keep this up, you will be disqualified.'

Keith settles down, mumbling more expletives. As exasperating as this is, it doesn't matter at the end of the day! Whichever monster Mai takes, it will be no match for the Slot Machine, now that the latter is equipped with two 7 Completed cards.

'I think I'll take this one,' Mai finally makes up her mind and adds to her hand the Fiendish Engine Omega. Next, she places the deck back on the board and it is returned to Keith.

'Your turn,' Keith mumbles, still annoyed.

Mai looks at her hand. Right now, she has 2 cards: the one she took from Keith and the Harpy's Feather Duster. With this spell card, she could sweep away all 7 Completed cards on Keith's field. Except she needs a Harpy Lady monster on the field to activate it!

Mai looks at her deck before her draw phase. She gulps. She has heard Yugi say that, if you believe in the Heart of the Cards, your cards will always show you the way. Time to find out whether this is true!

'Harpy... my lady...' Mai thinks as she slowly moves her hand towards her deck. 'Right now, I need you more than ever. Please, don't foresake me now!'

She draws. She looks at the card she drew. She smiles! She looks back at Keith.

'I play the Monster Reborn. And I'll use it to bring back the Harpy.'

The Harpy reappears on Mai's field, greeting her master with her usual howl.

'Then I play the Harpy's Feather Duster.'

Four greenish wings appear on the Harpy's back. The monster raises her body in the air and, with each of her hands placed on the opposite shoulder, creates a whirlwind which destroys all spell/trap cards on Keith's field.

'NO!' the American champion cries as the reels in the Slot Machine's torso spin just enough for the pictures of the number seven to be lost from view and the monster's ATK points decrease back to 2000.

'And last but not least, I normal summon the Fiendish Engine Omega (2800/2000) in attack mode,' Mai intensely cries.

A gigantic, red robot that looks like Optimus Prime appears on Mai's field.

'Fiendish Engine Omega, attack,' Mai points a finger.

The gargantuan robot strikes the Slot Machine with the two huge blades attached on either of its arms. The body of the monster on Keith's field is cut into three pieces, which subsequently break into one million tiny pieces each.

With his eyes bulging, Keith lets out an inarticulate cry as his life points drop from 1000 to 200.

'WHOO HOO, you rule, Mai,' Tea cheerfully cries, raising her arm in the air.

It's Keith's turn. Mumbling expletives, he draws. Darn! Not good enough.

'I-I play the Launcher Spider (2200/2500) in defense mode,' Keith declares, with his arm trembling, placing a monster card on the board in a horizontal position.

A green, spider shaped tank with a brownish head and golden cannons appears on Keith's field.

'Just you wait, woman,' the duelist from the USA thinks. He does have cards in his deck that can turn this around. All he needs to do is stall until he draws them. Fortunately, attacking your opponent's life points directly isn't a thing yet, so playing one monster in defense mode per turn is enough for him to stall as long as he likes.

Mai looks at her deck with a confident smile. 'Okay, deck,' she inwardly says with a nod. 'Give me the card I need to finish off this jerk.'

She draws.

'I play the Shadow of Eyes, a permanent spell card.'

She places on the board a spell card that depicts two female eyes. Almost the very next moment, the Harpy's eyes begin glowing. Her body starts emitting battle pherormones, which force any non female monster the opponent plays in defense mode to switch into attack mode and attack the Harpy.

Keith can now only watch helpless, with his eyes bulging and his teeth gritted. He knows it's all over!

The Launcher Spider takes aim.

Mai places her hand on her chest. 'Harpy... forgive me for sacrificing you, my lady,' she thinks.

The Harpy turns her head and gives Mai a reassuring smile, as if to say that it's an honor to sacrifice herself for the sake of her master and friend. Mai reciprocates the smile before the Harpy is shrouded in the smoke generated by the missiles fired from the Launcher Spider's cannons.

When the smoke has dissipated, nothing is left of the Harpy.

Mai wipes a tear as her life points decrease from 1400 to 500. Next, she takes a determined expression. 'Harpy... this is for you. FIENDISH ENGINE OMEGA, ATTACK.'

The monster Mai took from Keith's deck destroys the Launcher Spider. Keith clutches his head with one hand while slamming his other down on the board as his life points drop to zero.

'And the winner is Mai Valentine,' Croquet declares, raising his arm, with all fingers pointing at the female duelist.

'You did it, Mai,' Tea calls out with childlike enthusiasm. Mai can't help smiling and shaking her head no in amusement.

Suddenly, an inarticulate scream draws everybody's attention. It's Keith! He jumps on his duel board and, using it as a boost, with a huge leap, reaches the balcony where Pegasus is sitting!

'Oh, boy,' Mai sighs boredly. 'That guy just doesn't know when to quit antics, does he?'

Keith pulls a knife. Pegasus remains completely nonchalant.

'Okay, Pegasus, gimme the prize money. NOW!'

'Why?' the creator of the game chuckles, closing his eyes and recrossing his legs in a provocatively fearless manner. 'Because you lost? Or because you lost despite having cheated? You think I didn't see you pulling your 7 Completed cards out of your wristbands?'

'I won't say it again,' Keith threatens. 'Give me the money now or else...'

Pegasus won't need to press the button that would open the trapdoor under Keith's feet after all, for that moment, the eyes of the unscrupulous man bulge before he passes out. As his large body falls on the floor with an audible thud, it reveals Mai standing behind, having just knocked Keith unconscious with a knife hand strike in the neck!

Pegasus gasps. When did that woman come here?

'That asshole is not the only one who can perform impressive leaps,' Mai explains, as if to answer Pegasuses inward question!

As Pegasuses bodyguards are dragging Keith's unconscious body away, Mai gives the white haired man a threatening smile. 'Don't worry. I won't use my martial arts skills on you too, rich boy. I'll save my wrath for later, when it's time to crush you in a duel.'

Next, she turns around and walks away in a sexy manner, hands on hips. Pegasus is still astonished. He admits he never expected that someone would catch him by surprise, even taking into account the fact that his attention was on Keith at that moment.

However, this changes nothing. He or she who can defeat him at cards hasn't been born yet. If that woman is bold enough to challenge him instead of walking away with the prize now that she can, she will become a part of his soul card collection. Just like the Kaiba brothers and Yugi's grandfather.

* * *

Mokuba is sitting on a bench in his cell. He has been sitting there still for so long that even the cell's mice have got over their fear of him and are now roaming close to him, ignoring his presence, sometimes even climbing his legs, standing on his shoulders, sniffing at his ears etc! Mokuba is just ignoring them.

Or should we say Mokuba's body. For his soul no longer resides it. Nevertheless, that empty, soulless shell is still a living organism, at least to the extent of having bodily functions, such as breathing, eating and... that thing that comes next! Pegasuses body guards hate having to change his diapers, but someone has to do that job too!

Bakura steps out of the dark, with an unconscious (or dead?) guard lying next to him. 'Hello, my new host,' the white haired, possessed boy smiles with his arms crossed, addressing the empty shell.

The organic mass that used to be Mokuba's body still has enough volition to at least raise his head and look at the newcomer with his robotic eyes.

Now all that is left to do is open that cell door. Easy peasy for the wielder of a millenium item!


	5. Challenging the Creator

Mai has gone back to the balcony where the spectators have watched all duels that have taken place in this castle since yesterday. She and Tea exchange looks. Uncertain looks.

Tea recalls all memories of Mai she has. Memories coming flooding back after all these years. No, wait, they have known each other only for two days! Wow! Those two days felt like years to her! It is surprising how eventful a short period in one's life can be sometimes.

When they first met, Tea couldn't think less of that woman. Back then, in the schoolgirl's eyes, that blonde, young adult was nothing more than an arrogant bitch, a shallow, money hungry, egotistical jerk who would go around belittling others for no reason.

Then, that night, all of a sudden, Mai showed up and helped Tea and her friends, without having anything to gain. She shared her food with them when they were starving. She even provided Tea with a portable shower; so nice of her!

That night the two of them spent in Mai's tent, chatting like lifelong besties, Tea discovered a more likeable, a more human side to Mai.

And she couldn't help admiring that woman's sense of honor, when the latter did not settle for the 10 star chips she needed to enter Pegasuses castle but also went as far as to play more duels, risking losing the 10 chips she had already ensured, just to give back to Yugi the star chips he had earned back for her sake when that eliminator forced her into a duel that could be part of a horror movie; just to pay her debt back to Yugi!

The two frenemies keep looking at each other. At some point, Tea almost smiled, but she repressed it in the end.

Finally, Mai breaks the awkward silence. 'Come here, baby girl,' she whispers and hugs Tea, eliciting a squeal of (pleasant) surprise from her.

The two girls burst into laughter in each other's arms. They stay like that for quite a while, laughing together like old friends.

'So you have won the Duelist Kingdom tournament. You rock, girl!' Tea comments.

Mai breaks the hug while playfully ruffling the other girl's hair, perhaps a little more forcefully than she intended.

'Ouch,' Tea playfully pouts, pulling back.

'Don't be a crybaby,' Mai winks.

Tea sticks out her tongue.

Croquet approaches and interrupts that moment between the two females by clearing his throat, thus drawing their attention.

'Miss Valentine, you are the champion of the Duelist Kingdom tournament,' he declares with a formal expression. This time, he allows himself to make a comment as well: 'Congratulations.'

Next, he gives her a piece of paper. 'This is a cheque for 3 million yen.'

'Thanks,' Mai says, taking the cheque.

'Wow, the things you can do with that much money,' Tea exclaims in a childlike manner. 'How are you planning to spend it, Mai? Oh, let me guess! First, you are going to buy some really expensive jewellery! Am I right?'

Mai's face clouds over, since, that moment, she remembers Joey's sister. She'd like to help, but it would be totally insane to give all her money to an unknown person. It's not like she's a billionaire, which would mean that parting with 3 million yen is not a big deal. She actually needs this money. She can use it to lead a better, more comfortable life.

Croquet interrupts her thoughts anew: 'And now, Miss Valentine, you have half an hour to decide whether you wish to challenge Maximillion Pegasus, for the Duel King title.'

Those words cause Mai to raise her eyes to the highest blacony in the hall, where Pegasus is still sitting, in the same position as before: arms and legs crossed in an arrogant manner. The creator of the game shakes his head no with a solemn expression.

'I wouldn't do it if I were you, woman,' he advises her. 'Believe me, it wouldn't be pleasant for me either to trap the soul of a pretty girl like you into a card, but these are the stakes I play for. I'm saying this for your own good, leave now that you can!'

With these words, Pegasus stands up and withdraws to another part of the castle.

Mai turns to Tea. 'This cuckoo head thinks he's going to scare me with his mumbo jumbo,' she chuckles.

'Mai, this is serious,' Tea takes hold of her friend's shoulders, eliciting a gasp of surprise from the latter. 'Pegasus is not just some weirdo as you believe. He is a dangerous psychopath! As much as I hate him, I think you should follow his advice and withdraw from the competition at this point.'

Mai seems confused for a while. Then she presses herself to laugh. 'Come on, Tea, you can't be serious...'

'I'm dead serious!' the teenage girl snaps. 'Do you remember what happened to Kaiba yesterday when he lost to that madman?'

'Umm, I'm not sure I understood what happened at that point,' Mai scratches her head. 'Kaiba seemed kinda unresponsive after his duel with Pegasus. But I guessed that was due to some sort of trick Pegasus did with his eye shaped jewel...'

'It was not a trick!' Tea interrupts her again. 'Pegasus confined Kaiba's soul in another dimension. He did the same thing to Kaiba's brother, Mokuba. And to Yugi's grandpa too!'

Mai's eyes widen. So that was what Yugi meant when he said he was fighting for his grandfather!

'Pegasus can read minds,' Tea carries on, looking Mai straight in the eye. 'This is not a trick either. It's not like your aroma tactics. Pegasus can really enter your mind and see even your deepest thoughts. It doesn't matter how skilled a duelist you are. It doesn't matter whether you believe any of what I'm saying. Kaiba didn't believe it either and wound up essentially dead. If you fight Pegasus, you will just lose and wind up in the same condition. As simple as that! Not believing it won't save you, just like it didn't save Kaiba. Please, Mai, don't do that. I don't want to lose my friend!'

Mai lets out another gasp, louder than before. If that was a more relaxed moment, Tea would never call Mai a friend out loud. She would just make sarcastic comments, to which Mai would respond with her own sarcastic comments, they would show their love to each other this way, like siblings, like the frenemies they usually are. But for Tea not to care about any of that, something really serious must be going on here!

Tea bursts into sobs and buries her head in Mai's arms. They stay like that for a while, with Mai dumbfounded.

Finally, the blonde woman takes a determined expression. She gently pushes Tea away. 'Even so,' she declares, 'I'm a duelist. And, as a duelist, if I back down from a challenge, a part of me will die forever. And, believe me, girl, feeling that a part of you dies is worse than your body literally dying.'

'So you're gonna throw your life away just for the sake of a children's card game?' Tea yells angrily, still crying.

'Duel monsters is more than just a children's card game,' Mai yells back. 'It's a way of life. And if you really were my friend as you say, you would understand me, or at least you would support me in my decision.'

'WELL, FUCK YOU, MAI VALENTINE,' Tea screams, her eyes full of tears. 'I'm not going to stay here and see you brainlessly suicide.'

With those words, she turns around and runs away.

'WELL, FUCK YOU, TOO, TEA GARDNER,' a furious Mai calls out to her as she's running away.

And so, Mai is left alone. Alone! As she has always been in her life. How stupid she was. Why did she suddenly believe that she could have friends?

She has always known that a duelist can rely only on themselves. On no one else! And, as it has turned out, she was right. Look at her now. She's about to fight the hardest battle of her life and all her supposed friends are gone. Why did she let herself forget that, at the end of the day, when the worst comes to the worst, all a duelist has is themselves?

Well, the hell with her supposed friends. Who needs them? Mai has always fought with only herself on her side and that's exactly what she's going to do now as well!

With a sigh, she crosses her arms, takes a determined expression and walks in the direction Croquet went in when he left. She's going to tell him that she has decided to challenge Pegasus!

* * *

The cell's door is open. Bakura, or should we say the spirit of the Millenium Ring, exits the cell. In Mokuba's body!

The possessed, black haired boy chuckles. He takes in his hands the Millenium Ring hanging down from his neck and examines it, as if he expected something to be different about it this time. Well, the Millenium Ring is the same as always!

He turns around and looks at his old body, Ryo Bakura, the white haired boy, lying unconscious in the cell, on the floor, with some mice sniffing at him.

Let's take our unconscious former host elsewhere; it would be too suspicious if he was found in Mokuba's cell!

'Sleep, my old friend,' Yami Bakura inwardly chuckles as he is dragging the body to another part of the castle. 'When you wake up, you will have no idea what happened. You will have no idea what happened with the Millenium Ring. So you won't be able to tell anyone about things they must not find out yet!'

With an evil laugh, the boy walks away, dragging the body along.

* * *

Back in one of the guest rooms, Yugi and Joey seem to have recovered.

Tristan is sitting backwards on a chair. Yugi is sitting on the bed, his feet barely reaching the floor (talk about being short!) Joey is sitting on the floor, his back resting against the wall.

'Do you feel better now, guys?' Tristan asks.

'I think so,' Yugi sighs, his palms on the mattress.

'Thanks, Tristan,' Joey says with a melancholic smile.

The door opens. Slowly!

The three boys turn their heads, curious. Who might it be?

The schoolboys gasp as the newcomer enters the room. It is none other than... Pegasus!

'I have been looking for you, Yugi boy,' the master of the castle says, arms behind back, with an exasperatingly calm smile.

'Pegasus!' Yugi jumps to his feet, shocked.

'Bastard!' Tristan cries.

'Give back the souls you took, motherfucker,' Joey cries.

The two friends of Yugi's charge at Pegasus. However, before they can reach him, the Millenium Eye glows. Pegasuses hair momentarily raises and spreads out as, with a dismissive chuckle, he telepathically sends the backs of the two poor boys slamming against the wall.

'Pegasus, stop,' Yugi cries.

Joey and Tristan are now pinned against the wall. They're groaning, mumbling expletives, struggling to move, but it's impossible to break free of Pegasuses magic. Yugi looks at his two friends alternately, with a shocked expression.

Finally, with a scream of rage, he transforms into his Yami self. His puzzle glows as he becomes taller. 'Leave them alone,' he points a finger at Pegasus and yells, his voice now way heavier than before, as if his testicles have suddenly dropped.

'Don't worry, Yugi boy,' Pegasus comforts him. 'I won't hurt your worthless friends. I just immobilized them so that they won't interfrere.'

'Pegasus! What do you want?' Yami Yugi demands to know.

'I think you know what I want, Yugi boy,' the older man answers with a meaningful smile.

Yugi lowers his eyes to his pendant. Of course!

He raises his eyes back to Pegasus and looks at him with rage, hatred. 'Haven't you done enough?' he cries, clenching his fists. 'You took away from me everything I held dear. How much more do you want to hurt me and my loved ones? Why are you doing this?'

Pegasus takes a solemn expression. 'Yugi, the Millenium Items have powers that a common schoolboy like you would never comprehend, even if I tried to explain. I could just take the puzzle from you by force, but, according to the ancient rules, to become a possessor of the powers of a Millenium Item, I have to win it in a duel.'

Yugi growls, tightening his fists. What is Pegasuses final objective anyway? Yugi has heard about unscrupulous, power hungry people that have tried, through history, to obtain all Millenium Items, in the hope of gaining total power. But he doesn't think Pegasuses objective is something so straightforward. Pegasus, if Yugi wants to put aside the hatred he feels for him and judge him objectively, just doesn't come across as a person driven by superficial ambitions.

Pegasuses words interrupt his thoughts: 'It doesn't have to be a card game. It will be a mental battle. A battle of willpower! It will take place in our minds. A shadow game! In the Ancient Egyptian way!'

Yugi inwardly curses. That damned Pegasus. He knew Yugi was in poor mental condition after his loss to Mai. That's why he decided to make his move now!

Unfortunately, Yugi doesn't seem to have any other choice. 'Fine!' he cries, trying to sound confident. 'Bring it on.'

Pegasuses eye fires a ray which collides with a ray fired from Yugi's puzzle. The beam clash lasts for a while. Yugi seems to be struggling, whereas his opponent has a relaxed expression.

'Is that all you've got?' Pegasus snickers. 'It seems your duel with that woman took a lot out of you.'

Pegasuses beam is about to totally overpower Yugi's and force the latter's back to the wall when someone enters the room. Croquet!

'Mister Pegasus, I have been looking for you. I must inform you that Miss Valentine has decided to challenge you for the Duel King title.'

The two Millenium Items stop emitting light. Yugi falls on his knees, exhausted. Pegasus turns around. As a result, Joey and Tristan fall on the floor, finally free now that Pegasuses attention is elsewhere.

'Croquet, look what you've done,' the white haired man complains in a childlike manner with an annoyed smile. 'You interrupted me when I was about to crush Yugi boy's puny mental resistance and take the Millenium Puzzle! Now I'm obliged to punish you. Again!'

'I... I apologize, sir,' Croquet lowers his eyes in shame behind his dark glasses.

Pegasus turns his head to Yugi. 'Fine, I guess we can finish this later,' he sighs and walks out of the chamber, heading to the duel arena.

'Did... did you hear that?' Tristan cries as he's slowly standing up, rubbing his aching butt. 'Mai is going to face Pegasus in a duel.'

'Is she nuts?' Joey cries. 'Does she have a death wish or something?' He turns to Yugi: 'We mustn't let her do that, Yug.'

Yugi finally manages to stand on his feet. 'We must go to the duel arena. Now!' he says, alerted.

* * *

Mai is already standing at the board, waiting for her opponent to show up. She has her arms crossed and a determined expression. She doesn't care whether that white haired freak can really read minds. She's still gonna win!

'What's her plan?' you might ask. None! But she is still determined to pull this off. Somehow!

Finally, a door behind the board across from her opens and Pegasus appears, walking over to the arena, slowly and steadily, like a lion before it pounces on its prey.

Even though there is no one else in the duel hall right now, Croquet feels the need to present Pegasus, as if he's addressing a crowd: 'And now, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the Duel King, Maximillion Pegasus.'

The undefeated creator of duel monsters stands at the board opposite Mai. 'Even though this is against the rules, I'll give you one opportunity to withdraw the challenge,' he says politely. 'This is your last chance! Run away now that you can, woman!'

'Just order your stupid bodyguard to announce the beginning of the fucking duel,' Mai snaps.

'Fine. You have just signed your death warrant,' Pegasus thinks with a smile, his Millenium Eye glowing menacingly.


	6. King versus Woman

The match before the final curtain of the Duelist Kingdom. Maximillion Pegasus versus Mai Valentine. Mai Valentine versus Maximillion Pegasus. Man versus woman. Creator versus champion. Darkness versus light. The winner takes it all!

The two duelists are shuffling their respective decks. Mai is looking at Pegasus, her eyes blazing with determination. Pegasus can almost see her duelist aura surrounding her. He, on the other hand, does not seem to emit any aura at all; he's just casually humming and shuffling his deck, as if this duel is nothing more than a chore. No opponent has ever pushed him to the extent of him having to take a duel so seriously as to emit a duelist aura! And he knows that this fight shall be no exception.

Maximillion Pegasus! The undisputed gaming master. The genius who created the game called duel monsters. (Or at least that's what most people believe; few know that all he actually did was turn into a card game the bloodsoaked shadow battles conducted with real monsters in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago.)

At first sight, he seems an ever collected, humorous, insensitive, manipulative, spoiled, rich jerk. However, deep down, he's a broken man. The loss of the one and only woman he ever loved devastated him.

Before Cecelia died, Pegasus had never given much thought to the concept of death. He unconsciously believed he was going to live forever, as most people who have never experienced sorrow in their lives. With his father being the filthily rich owner of a casino chain, Pegasus grew up in a protective bubble, oblivious to normal people's problems, having no knowledge of the poverty and misery around him. The greatest sorrow he ever suffered in his childhood was that time he accidentally missed an episode of his favourite cartoon show, Funny Bunny! No kidding, little Max cried for days afterward, before he finally watched a rerun of that episode (there was no Internet back then).

When he met Cecelia, at what would otherwise have been another boring social event his parents had dragged him along to for the sake of dad's prestige as a sucessful businessman and a happy family man, even though they both were still children, they instantly knew they belonged to each other. They kissed for the first time a few weeks later!

They married eight years ago, when they were only 17! Still almost kids! Nevertheless, neither Pegasuses nor Cecelia's parents had any objections, since both families belonged to high society and the fathers of the two young lovers saw that marriage as an opportunity to do profitable business together.

Cecelia had a heart attack and died on the wedding night! As the autopsy showed, she had had a heart disease for a long time, but she didn't know. Her chest had warned her multiple times, but she never consulted a doctor; she would always interpret those pains as excitement about her upcoming wedding.

After his lover passed away, Pegasus isolated himself. He would spend days in his chamber, without talking to anyone, without eating, barely drinking some water just so that he wouldn't die of dehydration.

He no longer cared about anything. He didn't even care when both his parents died in a car accident soon after Cecelia. He could live without his mom and dad, but not without his lover.

After inheriting his father's vast fortune, he traveled a lot around the world, delving into various philosophies and religions, refusing to accept that death was the end of everything, that he would never see his dream girl again. For a long time, he tried to embrace various theological approaches, with none of them really bringing peace to his tormented soul.

He started with what was the official religion in his homeland, USA, in other words Christianity. He visited churches and discussed with priests and pastors. However, Christians' idea of the afterlife, an asexual state with no earthly pleasures, did not sound to him very promising regarding a possible future with his lover past this world.

His journeys to India did not give him further hope either. He deduced that Buddhism was essentially a nhilistic theory rather than anything else.

And, of course, Islam by no means agreed with him for what I think are obvious reasons!

And so, he began studying religions of the ancient past, seeking Gods no longer worshipped by anyone. During his journey across Egypt, he discovered the Millenium Items, the Millenium Eye. Or should I say the Millenium Eye discovered him! The Millenium Eye chose him! That moment, the moment that golden artifact was violently attached to his eye by that tomb keeper, the moment he caught a glimpse of his deceased lover, Pegasus felt a glimmer of hope in his heart for the first time in a long time.

Pegasus is not sure whether it will work, but, after some visions which the Millenium Eye gave him, revealing to him Ancient Egyptian secrets, he has come to believe that maybe there is a way to revive Cecelia by combining the magic of the Millenium Items with Kaibacorp technology. It is a really complicated method, too complicated to elaborate on here.

But even if that fails, he will at least be able to use Kaiba Corp technology to create lifelike projections of his beloved wife. Even this is better than nothing. Who cares how much harm he has to do in the process? Who cares how many souls he has to sacrifice, how many lives he has to ruin? A world without Cecelia is not a world worth living in!

The Big Five have agreed to appoint him as the new president of Kaiba Corp if he wins the Duelist Kingdom tournament, thus restoring the company's status, which was damaged after Seto Kaiba, the supposedly undefeated world champion, lost to that no name called Yugi. In other words, this duel is all that is left between him and Kaiba Corp, between him and his hopes of seeing Cecelia once again.

The voice of Croquet interrupts his thoughts: 'And now, Miss Valentine, allow me to explain to you what prize awaits you in case you defeat the King of Games. Have a look at your Glory of the King's Opposite Hand card.'

With a sigh of boredom, Mai does so, merely to do him that favor. Why doesn't that stupid bodyguard just get to the point?

'As you can see, this card is blank,' the grey haired referee states the obvious, eliciting one further sigh from the woman. 'This is symbolic of the size of your prize. There is no limit to what you can ask Mister Pegasus for.'

Mai's eyes widen. 'No limit?' she gasps, placing her palms on the duel board.

'Absolutely no limit, woman,' Pegasus answers in place of his subordinate. 'You can ask for anything you wish and, if it is in my power, I will do it. For example, you can ask for Kaiba Corp, this island, my Millenium Eye, even all of the above, even everything I possess!'

'Wow,' Mai whispers, astonished. If she wins this duel, she can become the most powerful woman in the world!

'However!' Pegasus carries on, raising a finger. 'Mind that, if you lose, a picture shall appear on this card. A picture of you! Your soul shall be confined to another dimension, where you will spend the rest of eternity, alone, wishing you had died instead.' The white haired man adds an evil laugh for emphasis.

Silence. Pegasus allows his words to sink in. Mai is still looking at the card. She gulps, trying to hide her trepidation.

'I get it,' she finally talks again. 'I have a lot to win but also a lot to lose.'

'Wrong, woman,' Pegasus cries with a demonic smile. 'You have a lot to win and EVERYTHING to lose. MHAHAHAHA.'

* * *

Yugi, Joey and Tristan are running along the corridor when they see a crying Tea sitting on the floor, with her back resting against the wall. The girl has buried her head between her knees.

The three boys stop in front of their female friend. Yugi places his palms on his knees and leans towards her. 'Tea? What's wrong?' he asks with concern.

Tea raises her head, her eyes still wet. 'Mai is going to challenge Pegasus.'

'We know,' Tristan informs her. 'That's where we're going right now.'

'Well, you guys go without me,' Tea sobs. 'Who cares if that stupid bimbo wants to throw her life away? Let her suicide.'

Joey sighs. Okay, there are two ways of doing this: the fast way and the slow way. The slow way is to let Yugi deliver a speech (which, by the way, he's about to begin right now!) about love, friendship, a duelist's honor etc until Tea comes to her senses. The fast way is to... you know what, just watch Joey do it!

'ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT, GIRL,' the blond boy grasps Tea by the collar, eliciting a squeal of shock from the latter, forces her to stand up and forcefully shakes her. 'MAI IS OUR FRIEND AND WE SHALL STAND BY HER SIDE. GOT IT?'

'Y-Yes, sir,' Tea gulps in a low voice, her widened eyes having dried in an instant!

The group resumes running, heading to the duel hall.

* * *

'Now you can cut each other's decks,' Croquet instructs the two duelists.

He walks over to Pegasuses duel board, takes his master's deck, gently places it on a purple pad and carries it over to Mai, who cuts it. Next, he repeats the process with Mai's deck. Pegasus just taps on it once. 'It's good as it is,' the Duel King forgoes his right to cut his opponent's deck, seeing no reason to; even in the unlikely case that that woman has bothered rigging her deck, it will do her no good against someone who can see the opponent's cards and read their minds. Croquet returns the deck to Mai.

The referee returns to his original position and produces a coin. 'A coin will be tossed to decide who will go first,' he declares.

'No need, Croquet,' Pegasus interrupts him with a dismissive gesture. And, turning to Mai, he carries on, 'I'll let you make the first move, woman. Believe me, you're going to need every advantage you can get in this duel. Not that it will make any difference in the end, mind you!'

Mai rolls her eyes and checks her starting hand. After some contemplation, she makes her move.

'I set 1 card.'

A square on the field starts emitting a flickering light.

'Next, I play the Dunames Dark Witch (1800/1050) in attack mode.'

An arguably sexy woman appears on Mai's field. She has middle length, purple hair and blue eyes. She's wearing white gloves, boots the same color, a golden headband and a short dress with red as well as with white areas. Large, white wings are attached to her back. The monster opens her arms, as if she's ready for battle.

'I end my turn.'

Mai inwardly smiles. 'That female monster may not look particularly strong, but no woman is alone,' she thinks. 'If that jerk is careless enough to attack, I'll activate my face down card, Female Solidarity.' (**ORIGINAL CARD**)

Pegasus smiles as his Millenium Eye glows in an ominous manner. 'I see. She has set Female Solidarity,' he thinks. And, as he selects a card in his hand, he (still inwardly) carries on, 'Unfortunately for you, girl, I have the perfect counter to that in my hand!'

'First, I set 1 card,' the male duelist says out loud. 'And then I play the Dark Dog (1800/1300) in attack mode.' (**ORIGINAL CARD**)

A pitch black dog with a creepy yet cartoonish smile appears on the field. It barks a few times in a row to make its entrance.

'Do you remember the Dark Rabbit monster I played against Kaiba boy?' Pegasus rhetorically asks, referring to his fight with the ex world champion, which Mai watched along with other people yesterday. 'That monster was based on Funny Bunny, the main character of my favourite childhood cartoon series. When I was creating the duel monsters cards, I guessed that, since I had created a card based on that series' main character, it was only fair that I also created a card based on Funny Bunny's main antagonist, Ruff Ruff McDogg, the policeman, or should I say the policedog, who would chase Funny Bunny without ever catching him.'

The dog on the field growls and bares its teeth, as a reaction to his creator's words but also in order to frighten Mai's monster. However, the Dunames Dark Witch is just staring indifferently. Equally indifferently, Mai replies, 'I don't care what you used to jack off to when you were a child and your dick was as small as it is now! Just make your move!'

Kinda angry that Mai belittled his favourite childhood show, moreover by swearing, Pegasus takes a serious expression and yells, 'Dark Dog, attack. Rabid Bite!'

With its eye pupils disappearing, the barking dog starts running towards Mai's monster, who takes an alerted expression and a fighting stance.

Mai smiles. 'You might think that, since both monsters have the same number of attack points, they will both die,' she says. 'Though I don't know why you bothered attacking in that case. Anyway, sweetie, be prepared to cry like the crybaby that you are. For I activate a trap card. Female Solidarity!'

Mai forcefully turns over her face down card. It depicts a group of women walking on a street, presumably holding a rally. The front row of those women is carrying a white banner that says, in large, black letters, 'NO WOMAN ALONE.'

'As this banner says, no woman is alone against men,' Mai explains, still holding the trap card. 'When a female monster of mine whose original ATK is 2000 or less is attacked by a male one, I can activate this card. It allows me to send from my deck to the graveyeard a monster that has the same name as the one under attack. For this turn, the ATK points of my female monster that is being attacked increase by an amount equal to the ATK points of the monster I sent to the graveyard this way!'

Mai picks up her deck, searches it and sends another Dunames Dark Witch to the graveyard. As a result, the spirit of the second Dunames Dark Witch appears on the field briefly and holds the hand of the first one. The two female monsters exchange meaningful smiles.

'Observe the power of solidarity among women, you male pig,' Mai cries determinedly, staring at Pegasus, as the ATK points of her monster increase from 1800 to 3600!

The Dunames Dark Witch braces herself with a confident smile, sure that she will kill the charging dog easily.

'Heh! This will leave him virtually dead,' Mai thinks with a victorious smile.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mai girl,' Pegasus chuckles (actually, he's lying; he's not sorry at all!) as he activates his face down card. 'But look what I've got here. Absorb Spell!'

Mai gasps in what is probably the most unpleasant shock of her life.

'From your expression, I can tell that you know what this quick play spell card does,' Pegasus carries on, showing her a green card depicting the hand of a mage or something gathering energy which is coalescing into a dark colored sphere. 'When my opponent plays a card that increases the ATK points of one of their monsters, one of my own monsters shall reap that benefit instead!'

Mai is helplessly watching, with her eyes bulging, as the ATK points of her monster drop back to 1800 while the ATK points of her opponent's monster skyrocket to 3600.

The dog resumes its attack and bites the witches waist, thus cutting her lovely body into two. The dying Dunames Dark Witch closes her eyes and lets out a howl of pain. Blood spurts from both severed halves of her body before they both break into a million tiny pieces each.

Mai is staring into space with an expression of horror as her life points drop from 2000 all the way to 200! She can't believe this. This man can really read minds after all. There is no way that he just happened to set the perfect counter to her trap. That's why he attacked when both monsters had the same number of ATK points. He wanted Mai to activate Female Solidarity so that he could activate Absorb Spell, thus depleting her life points.

Oh, God, what is she going to do? It's only the first turn and she has already lost 90% of her life points! For the first time, she wonders whether it was really smart of her to challenge Pegasus.

Meanwhile, the Duel King, who is reading his opponent's mind even right now, sensing her despair, smiles. It seems that this woman has finally realized what she's up against.

'Too late, Mai girl. There is no turning back now,' Pegasus thinks and has an inward, evil laugh.


	7. Toon Hell

With her palms on the duel board, Mai keeps staring into space, with an expression of despair.

Pegasus ends his turn, so the Dark Dog's ATK points drop back to 1800.

'It's your turn, woman,' Pegasus solemnly declares. 'Draw a card and make your move.'

However, Mai seems unresponsive.

'Umm, Miss Valentine,' Croquet tries to draw her attention, with an awkward yet formal expression. 'You need to draw a card for your turn to begin.'

The woman keeps ignoring them.

Even Croquet, the usually cold and indifferent bodyguard of Pegasuses, catches himself feeling a little sorry for her. However, he still feels the need to stick to the letter of the rules. 'If you don't draw a card within one minute, it will count as a forfeit and I shall declare Mister Pegasus the winner of the duel.'

Mai remains unresponsive.

Croquet sighs, raises his arm and starts looking at his watch.

Pegasus places his index finger on his nose and chuckles. It's only a matter of one minute!

Mai is lost in despair. So this is how it is going to end. She will die. And, moreover, she will die as she has lived: alone. Because that's what Mai has been all her life. Alone!

Being the daughter of a militarian, Mai always had a hard time making friends in her childhood, both because of her strict and overprotective father as well as because her family had to constantly move, due to the nature of her father's job. Things got even worse when she entered teenagehood. Her body developed prematurely, which made her a target of mockery and bullying for her female classmates. As for the boys, they treated her as a whore. They believed that just because she had large breasts meant that she was willing to get laid with anyone, anytime, anywhere. She reached a point where she couldn't even address a boy without him automatically assuming that she was hitting on him.

Mai hated everyone: her oppressive parents, her classmates, her teachers.

After she graduated from high school, she attended college for a while, pursuing a degree in architecture. Still, though, the 'cool' girls would give her a hard time. One time, when the channelor was delivering a speech in an auditorium, with his face shown on a big screen, Mai heard two of the college queen bees, who were sitting right behind her, whispering something, intentionally loud enough for Mai to hear.

'I wonder which is bigger,' one of the two aforementioned girls said. 'The channelor's face on the big screen or Mai's boobs?'

'Mai's boobs,' the other girl answered and they both giggled.

Okay, that did it! Mai stood up, turned around and punched them both in the face! Hard!

Needless to say she was expelled after that. As she was packing her stuff in her dorm room, she wondered what to do next. Go back home and face a furious dad? Nah! Who needs that asshole? Who needs parents? Who needs anyone?

It was then that she made a decision on impulse. She went to the harbor and got a job on a cruise ship. And so, she spent years working on board, traveling around the world. And you know what? She came to like that lifestyle. She felt so free, so independent.

She learnt how to play duel monsters by watching passengers dueling. Well, she learnt the rules that way, but it was only later that she started playing herself. It was one time that a card accidentally fell out of the pocket of a passenger. The Harpy! Mai picked it up and ran behind him.

'Umm, excuse me, sir. You accidentally dropped this,' she said.

The passenger fixed his eyes on the card for a while. Then he laughed. 'You can keep it, girl,' he responded as he was walking away. 'It doesn't have many ATK points. I wouldn't put that card in my deck anyway.'

Mai stayed there for a while, staring at the picture on the card. That grotesque yet feminine creature! It was as if she was talking to her. She looked so cool, so confident. She was the besty Mai had never had! Mai felt that fate had led her to that card.

And so, Mai began collecting duel monsters cards. It wasn't long before she managed to assemble a deck of her own.

Years have passed since that day. So, after all these years, after all these duels, after all these experiences, it will all end now? In such a dishonorable manner?

Mai sighs and closes her eyes, waiting for Croquet to declare what will essentially be her death.

'MAI!'

Huh? Tea?

'WE'RE HERE, GAL!'

Joey?

'YOU'RE NOT ALONE!'

Tristan?

Mai opens her eyes and turns them to the balcony. She smiles. Heh. Those dimwits have come after all!

'PEGASUS, LEAVE HER ALONE!' Yugi (in his Yami state) cries, pointing a finger at the master of the island.

'Or else what, Yugi boy?' the white haired man gives him an exasperatingly nonchalant smile. 'You will sit on a stool, force me onto your lap and spank me?'

Having no good retort to that, Yugi growls, tightening his fists.

'Deal with it, Yugi boy,' Pegasus carries on. 'The duel has already begun. And, since that woman agreed to it, there is nothing you can do for her anymore.'

'Mai,' Yugi cries desperately. 'Please... somehow... JUST WIN!'

Yugi doesn't really believe Mai can do it. Hell he doesn't even believe he himself could do it if he had got to fight Pegasus. From the beginning, he was hoping for a miracle. But now, with Mai being instead of Yugi the one who is dueling Pegasus, Yugi wonders whether even a miracle would be enough!

'Mai, remember what you told me before,' Tea cries determinedly, clinging to the railing. 'If you back down from a challenge, a part of you will die forever. It's up to you to keep that part alive, even if you lose this duel and your physical life along with it. It's up to you to decide HOW you will go down.'

Mai smiles. The babygirl is absolutely right! With her eyes blazing with resolve, she turns back to Pegasus. 'My turn!' she cries and draws a card.

Pegasus mumbles something, annoyed. Darn. It would have been a matter of only a few more seconds if Yugi and his friends hadn't come here to reignite that woman's fighting spirit. Oh well. This will just prolong the battle, but the final result won't change. Pegasus will win! This fact is an unshakable law!

Mai looks at her hand. If she wants to stand a chance in this duel, she has to somehow combat Pegasuses mind scan. Yesterday, Kaiba tried to, by discarding all cards in his hand and dueling by drawing and playing one card at a time, without looking at it first. However, he still lost in the end. If Mai tries the same stunt as Kaiba, she'll lose as well. No, she must think of something else. But what else? Good question.

'I set 1 card,' the woman declares, with a square on her field starting emitting a flickering light. 'Then I play the Amazoness Fighter (1500/1300) in defense mode.'

A muscular, dark skinned woman appears on the field. She has black hair, tied in a ponytail, and eyes the same color. She's almost nude, with the only garments on her body being a light blue bra and a loincloth the same color. The monster kneels down into a defensive position.

'I end my turn.'

As Pegasus draws a card, his Millenium Eye glows. A picture of Mai's face down card appears in his mind. It's a purple card depicting a glass wall.

'So she set the Mirror Wall,' Pegasus thinks. 'In that case, I'd better not attack yet.'

'I play Ryu Ran (2200/2600) in defense mode,' the man says out loud.

A giant egg appears on the field, with dragon arms, legs and wings protruding from cracks in it. In another crack, two menacing, yellow eyes are glowing.

'Also, I switch the Dark Dog into defense mode.'

The Dark Dog curls sideways, still looking at Mai's field and growling nonetheless.

* * *

Lurking in a shadow of a corridor, Yami Mokuba peeks at the duel hall. So what's the score? Whoah, that woman's life points are down to 200 while Pegasus is unscathed! It seems this fight has been decided.

Mokuba sees Mai draw a card, check her hand, mumble some curses and pass her turn.

He can feel Pegasuses fighting spirit. It's huge! Darn. It wouldn't be smart to make a move now that Pegasus is so powerful.

* * *

And so, it's Pegasuses turn again. The white haired man draws a card and looks at it. He smiles. 'Perfect,' he says in his head.

'I set 1 card,' the man says out loud and sets the card he just drew.

'Next, I switch Ryu Ran into attack mode.'

The red dragon pushes away the upper part of the egg, with its body now almost on full display.

'And I play this spell card from my hand. Ryu Ran Hatches!' (**ORIGINAL CARD**)

Pegasus places on the board a spell card depicting an egg shattering. On cue, whatever part of the egg was still surrounding Ryu Ran on the field shatters, as the monster grows in size and gets on all fours, with his teeth becoming larger and sharper and his look more ferocious. Ryu Ran produces a roar that almost shakes the duel hall, as his DEF points rise to 3200 and his ATK points to 4000!

'What? He created a monster with 4000 ATK points just like that?' Joey cries. 'I bet that card is tournament illegal!'

Yugi growls. Most likely, this is another card that that cheater never circulated in public, reserving it only for himself!

'Ryu Ran, attack,' Pegasus cries.

The huge dragon starts gathering fire in its mouth.

'I activate my permanent trap card,' Mai cries. 'Mirror Wall!'

The mirror wall appears, extending across Mai's field.

'And I activate my face down card. Magical Neutralizing Force Field!' Pegasus declares with a calm expression as he turns over his face down spell card depicting a hexagram with a whirlwind around it. 'It destroys all continuous spell or trap cards on the opponent's field.'

Mai gasps as a whirlwind shatters the mirror wall. And so, Ryu Ran's attack goes through. The Amazoness Fighter is engulfed in flames and destroyed.

'My... turn,' Mai draws a card, a bead of sweat on her forehead. She looks at it and mumbles curses.

'I play the Unfriendly Amazon (2000/1000) in defense mode and end my turn.'

A female warrior appears on the field. She has long, braided, blue hair. She's dressed in a kinda gothic style: black boots, long, black gloves and black armor. She's wielding a black sword. The woman kneels down into a defensive position.

Pegasus draws a card and looks at it. Next, he smiles at Mai meaningfully. 'Do you like cartoons, Mai girl?'

The woman widens her eyes in terror, having got the message. That creep is about to play...

'TOON WORLD!'

A huge, magic book appears on the field. It has green covers, on which the 'Toon World' title is written in large, capital, multicolored letters.

The book opens and starts emitting a large amount of pink smoke, with cartoonish sounds coming from seemingly nowhere; sounds such as that of someone jumping on a spring, a bomb going off, the laugh of someone who has just inhaled a large amount of helium etc Eventually, the book absorbs the two mosters on Pegasuses field into it. Next, it slams shut. After a few seconds, it opens again, with a beautiful landscape protruding from its pages. The landscape consists of grassy areas, waterfalls, a volcano and... a dog house. Pegasuses monsters pop out. Except they're now different from before. They look like caricatures of their former selves. Manga Ryu Ran has a toothy smile on its face. The Toon Dog is laughing like a lunatic, with ridiculously large amounts of rabies drool streaming out of its mouth. Their laughs resonate across the duel hall.

On the balcony, Yugi and his friends gasp in horror. Under different circumstances, these cartoons would look cute and funny. But now, they don't; they're the messengers of Mai's death!

'Manga Ryu Ran, attack,' Pegasus commands.

The Unfriendly Amazoness is engulfed in flames and subsequently destroyed.

After the attack, Manga Ryu Ran and the Toon Dog blow raspberries as they're absorbed back into the magic book, which slams shut anew, protecting its residents under its impenetrable covers.

'This Manga Ryu Ran creature seems unbeatable,' Joey comments.

'It combines an insanely large number of ATK points with the toons' invulnerability,' Tristan adds.

'Yugi, what can Mai do?' a concerned Tea places her palm on her friend's shoulder.

'I don't know,' Yugi admits. 'I don't know what I'd do in her shoes. I don't think I would find any way out.'

In the meantime, Mai has played the Amazoness Chainmaster (1500/1300) in defesne mode and ended her turn.

'How long can you stall by playing monsters in defense mode, annoying girl?' Pegasus wonders in his head. 'Sooner or later, you will run out of monsters or I will draw one of my cards that can bypass your defenses, such as the Fairy Meteor Crush or the Gorgon's Eye.'

Pegasus draws a card and subsequently activates it. 'I play the Pot of Greed.'

Pegasus places on the board the well known spell card depicting a green jar with a creepy, smiling face on it. Then, as the aforementioned spell card allows him to do, he draws 2 cards. He looks at the two new cards and smiles.

'I set 2 cards.'

Two squares on Pegasuses field start emitting flickering lights.

'2 face down cards? Great,' Mai says in her head sarcastically. 'As if things weren't bad enough already.'

'Next, I attack the Amazoness Chain Master with Manga Ryu Ran.'

The magic book opens, the fiendishly powerful, red toon dragon comes out and, with a smile, reduces one more monster of Mai's to ashes before going back into the book.

Once more, it's Mai's turn. She looks at her deck with a gulp.

'It's checkmate, girl,' Pegasus thinks with a triumphant smile. He already knows what the 3 cards in Mai's hand are: The Harpy, the Elegant Egotist and the Dramatic Rescue. None of those 3 cards can help her.

Toon monsters are immortal. They can be destroyed neither by attacks from normal monsters nor by magic effects. Even if Mai has the Harpy Phoenix Formation in her deck, it's of no use.

Moreover, the Toon World's magic is superior to that of almost any other spell card; it cannot be destroyed by stupid spell/trap destroying cards, such as the Harpy's Feather Duster. The only card that can destroy the Toon World is the Magical Neutralizing Force Field, a card which Pegasus created just in case and never circulated in public. But even if Mai somehow manages to take that card from Pegasuses graveyeard and play it against him, one of the two cards he has played face down on the board will put an end to her hopes. Can you guess what card it is? A second copy of the Toon World! True, Pegasus never circulated that card, but don't tell me you expected him to include only one copy in his deck!

Pegasus shall take no chances. He's so close to reviving Cecelia. He just can't lose. Soon, he will defeat that laughing blondie and...

Huh? Did I say laughing blondie? Yes. Mai is laughing. In fact, she's laughing her head off! Has she gone insane? Has she got past her fear and stopped caring?

On the balcony, Mai's friends are as shocked as Pegasus.

Finally, the woman gets serious and looks forward. 'Pegasus, you're weak,' she declares.

'WHAT?' everybody else in the hall (including Pegasus himself) cries in unison.


	8. A Broken Heart

Yugi and his friends are gaping at Mai, who keeps laughing. Okay, now they're really freaking out. They're genuinely worried about her mental health.

Even Pegasus catches himself being kinda sorry for her. 'Umm, miss, are you sure you are in condition to continue the duel?' the master of the island inquires with an uncertain expression.

Mai finally stops laughing and looks forward with a smile of determination. 'I never was better!' she answers, eliciting further gasps from the spectators on the balcony. 'You're not the only one who can read minds, Pegasus. I can read your mind too! And I have seen how weak you actually are.'

Pegasus growls. Okay, this is getting annoying! 'Explain yourself, woman, before I lose my patience,' he demands to know.

'I need no Ancient Egyptian thingies to read your mind, Peggy,' Mai keeps provoking him with a carefree expression. 'I worked on a cruise ship for years. Do you know how many desperate, rich men I met? I have come to know the opposite gender like the back of my hand. You think I cannot recognize a heartbroken man when I see him?'

Pegasus gasps, taken aback.

Mai smiles, realizing that she has just hit a nerve. 'I'm dead on. Right?'

Pegasus growls, trying to come up with one of his witty retorts, but his mind feels paralyzed right now.

'Was it that blondie on the portrait in the dining room?' Mai caresses her chin, smiling meaningfully and provocatively. 'Did she dump you?'

'You know nothing about Cecelia,' Pegasus cries on impulse.

'But I know everything about you,' Mai carries on. 'And I know that you're acting like a jerk because that Cynthia chick dumped your sorry ass.'

'Cecelia!' Pegasus corrects her.

'Yeah, yeah, whatever,' Mai makes a dismissive gesture. 'I don't care what her name is. Just because she was unsatisfied with your dick size does not mean you have the right to take it out on everyone else. If you think that cheating and beating everybody in a children's card game will make you feel that your cock is bigger than it actually is, you are...'

'SHUT THE FUCK UP!' Pegasus screams, slamming his hand down on the duel board, almost accidentally knocking his cards off the board in the process. His scream reverberates across the duel hall, freezing everybody's blood. Even the usually indifferent Croquet is genuinely shocked; never before has he seen his master show that much emotion!

Pegasus lowers his eyes to the duel board, without actually being able to see it. All he sees in front of him right now is a vision of his deceased lover. 'Cecelia, forgive her,' he thinks. 'I'll avenge you. I'll...'

'I END MY TURN!'

Huh? Still confused, Pegasus raises his eyes.

'Umm, Miss Valentine has just conducted her turn, sir,' Croquet hesitantly informs him.

Pegasus inwardly swears. It seems that, while he was looking down and talking to his dead wife, Mai drew a card and subsequently set it. Also, she summoned the Harpy in attack mode.

Oh, whatever, let's just read her mind in order to find out what she played. Pegasus draws a card, thus beginning his turn. 'Mind scan,' he inwardly says as his Millenium Eye glows. With his eyes (both his real one and his millenium one) fixed on the woman, who is standing opposite him with her arms crossed, he tries to concentrate, to reach deep in her mind and see what card...

That moment, Mai is replaced with Cecelia! Actually, Mai is still there, but, instead of her, Pegasus sees another blonde woman: his wife.

The man closes his eyes, clutches his temples and screams, as if he's in agony. 'No, not now, my love. Please, get out of my mind. This isn't the right time. I have to focus, to read the mind of that woman.'

The spectators on the balcony are gaping dumbfounded at the restless man. Mai is looking at him with her arms crossed and a smile of satisfaction. Heh. She has managed to throw him off balance!

Four minutes pass this way. 'Umm, Mister Pegasus,' Croquet hesitantly says. 'I inform you that your turn will be over in one minute. Perhaps... (gulp)... perhaps you should hurry up, sir.'

Pegasus opens his natural eye wide, with a deranged smile. Whatever, let's just attack and win! That woman has nothing that can beat his precious toons anyway. Let's get this over with and revive Cecelia!

'MANGA RYU RAN, ATTACK!'

'And now, Mister Pegasus,' Mai inwardly says, 'I'll show you how weak a crush on a woman can render any male.'

* * *

Bakura is standing and gazing out of the window in his room. How did he end up here? And where is the Millenium Ring?

The last thing he remembers is watching the duel Mai versus Keith along with Tea. Next thing he knew, he woke up here, on his bed.

Should he worry? And, most importantly, should he inform his friends about this memory gap? Or about the fact that his Millenium Item has gone missing? No, he decides not to. His friends have much more serious problems right now. Why should he worry them with this trivial stuff? Besides, that ring has given him only trouble since the day he found it. He guesses he'll be better off without it.

* * *

The toon book opens and the unstoppable Manga Ryu Ran pops out. With a threatening smile, he opens his mouth wide, revealing his sharp teeth, and begins gathering a sphere of fire.

Joey and Tristan are watching, clinging to the railing, with their eyes bulging in trepidation.

Tea closes her eyes and buries her head in Yugi's armpit. 'I can't watch this,' she admits in a muffled voice.

The multicolored haired boy is just staring silently with a neutral expression.

'Pegasus,' Mai cries as she slowly turns over her face down card. 'Your pathological love of a woman was your demise. And now, your monsters shall feel the same kind of pathological love as their master. Feminine Charm!' (**ORIGINAL CARD**) Mai reveals a card depicting a woman with black hair, tied in a bun, and green, expressive eyes. She's dressed in a blue, maxi dress. Her hands are clasped together in front of her chest.

Pegasus gasps and steps back, sweating in anxiety. Even though he's the creator of the cards and, therefore, he knows what every card does, Mai feels the need to explain: 'This trap card can be activated when the opponent declares an attack, if I have a female monster on my field. All male monsters on your field shall fall in love with that specific female monster and fight one another for her hand. Even those in defense position will automatically switch into attack mode and fight their allies.'

On the field, the Harpy takes a seductive expression. Clouds of steam in various colors start slowly and sensually coming out of the square under her and ascending. The Harpy starts dancing around them, using them as a makeshift, gaseous pole. She's moving her legs, flapping her wings and wiggling her breasts in a sexual manner while still shooting sultry glances at Pegasuses monster.

Manga Ryu Ran dissipates the fire ball he has been creating. His eyes are replaced by two pink hearts, as in cartoon gags. The Toon Dog pops out of the book, also having gag heart eyes. Also, in another popular, albeit overused, cartoon gag, the hearts of the two monsters are now almost beating out of their respective chests.

'No!' Pegasus inwardly says, shaking his head in desperation. 'Toon Monsters cannot be destroyed by magic effects, but they can still be affected by them in other ways. Such as this one! Curse you, woman!'

'Yes!' Yugi thinks, clenching a fist with a triumphant smile. 'Mai knew that cartoon monsters can be destroyed only by one another. That's why she used the Harpy's seductive tactics to turn them against each other. She's a brilliant strategist!' For the first time since he lost to Mai, Muto feels hope.

Pegasuses monsters look at each other, with their normal eyes back. Their expressions are angry. They're growling and baring teeth, thus saying to each other something like, 'Back off, asshole. The chick is mine.'

Pegasus clings to the duel board, with his eyes widened. 'No, stop, stupid monsters,' he cries desperately, even though he knows full well that it's futile. 'You're supposed to fight our opponent's monsters, not each other!'

Predictably, the two monsters of Pegasuses ignore their master and initiate combat. The Toon Dog bites Manga Ryu Ran's leg, trying to severe it. Ignoring that, since the dog's attack is nowhere near strong enough to damage him, Manga Ryu Ran begins gathering fire in his mouth anew.

'Great!' Tea squeals. 'When Manga Ryu Ran destroys the Toon Dog, Pegasus will take 2200 damage to his life points and he will lose!'

The Toon Dog is engulfed in flames and dies. Although his scream and expression are still cartoonish, they also clearly show his fear and agony.

'NOOOO!' Pegasus screams, with his eyes bulging, helplessly watching his life points drop from 2000 to zero!

Joey, Tristan and Tea are jumping in joy and hugging one another.

Mai raises her eyes, smiles at Yugi and gives him a thumbs up. Yugi is looking at her with a serious expression and his arms crossed.

Mai inwardly acknowledges that she would never have come such a long way had she not met Yugi.

She recalls the first time she met him, on the boat that brought her and the other participants here, to the Duelist Kingdom. Of course, she had heard about him before that. I mean, only someone who had been living under a rock wouldn't have heard of the boy who had beaten Seto Kaiba, causing what had probably been the greatest upset in the duel monsters world until then.

At first, Mai didn't believe it. She disregarded it as a hoax made by stupid Internet trolls. It sounded inconceivable to her that anyone could beat someone who has 3 copies of the Blue Eyes White Dragon in their deck. But it was true after all! In any case, that news inspired her to pursue her own dream, to believe that she could win the Duelist Kingdom tournament; if a no name could defeat the world champion, why couldn't she, too, beat anyone?

The first time she met Yugi, she was taken aback. She had no idea what he looked like physically, but she definitely didn't expect him to look like that. She roamed the ship for a long time, asking other passengers whether they knew who Yugi was, even mistaking some cool looking boys for him. In the end, a passenger showed her a short, timid boy and said to her, 'Over there. That's Yugi.' Mai inwardly gasped, being like, 'That little nerd is the one who defeated Seto Kaiba? I can't believe this!' Still, though, she walked over to him in order to introduce herself, pay her respects and inform him that she was planning to strip him of his unofficial title of the world's no1 duelist.

Mai soon found out that the personality of that little boy essentially becomes totally different when he duels. Whenever he stands in front of a duel board, that awkward kid becomes someone way cooler, more confident. At times, more ferocious! It's something magical, beyond logic. Mai would swear that those changes are almost physical! She thinks she has overheard Yugi's friends talking about the magic powers of that pendant he's wearing and she wonders whether there is a connection. Well, she can't really understand that part, but still, the transformation, regardless of its nature, is impressive.

Mai first saw Yugi in action against Weevil, the Japan champion, though it wasn't until she saw him duel Panic that she began grasping the full extent of that boy's dueling skills. During that duel, Yugi showed her how you can turn an opponent's mind games against them, how you can crush their spirits when those are as high as they can be, how you can retain your confidence even when the foe is trying to get into your head. And today, against Pegasus, she applied all those lessons she learnt that night. And now here she is, having finally carried out her 'threat', having stripped Yugi of his title, having rightfully been crowned Duel Queen.

But why isn't Yugi smiling? Isn't he happy that she won? Is it possible that he feels... envious? That he feels bitterness? No, Yugi is not that kind of person! Then what the...

'Mai, look in front of you,' Yugi points his finger, with the same serious expression on his face. 'The duel isn't over yet!'

Huh? What is that crazy boy talking about? Sure it's over. Once the opponent's life points hit zero, the duel ends. Why is Yugi telling her to look... WAIT A MINUTE! The hologram of the Harpy is still on the field. This isn't normal. When the opponent's life points hit zero and the duel ends, the holograms disappear right away. What is going on here?

Mai realizes that Pegasuses field is shrouded in eerie, brown smoke! With that smoke concealing him, Pegasus laughs like a devil. 'You will never beat me, woman!'

Eventually, the smoke starts dissipating, revealing a monster. Mai gasps. What is that grotesque creature?


	9. The Summit of the Battle

'Meet my ultimate monster, the Thousand Eyes Restrict,' Pegasus declares proudly.

Mai is gaping at the newly appeared monster in horror. It is a dark brown golem, who appears to have neither legs nor a head. In the center of its torso, there is a maw that is slowly opening and two ominous, green eyes. From the forehead, a large bulge is protruding, with an artifact on its end; a golden artifact that looks exactly like Pegasuses Millenium Eye! The torso of the creature, as well as its giant, clawed arms, are covered with countless eyes, which are slowly opening, one after another.

'I-I don't get it,' Mai cries, indignant. 'Your life points have dropped to zero. You should have lost.'

'Under normal circumstances, yes,' Pegasus admits. 'But look at the face down card I activated, woman.'

Even though that card is already in the graveyard, Pegasus picks it up for a second and shows it to Mai. It's a trap card depicting a lovely, green landscape, with a smoke ring in its center. The area that the smoke ring surrounds is a wasteland, which implies that the smoke ring is getting wider and wider, turning the beautiful prairie into a desert. From the wasteland ground, two monsters are slowly emerging, while whirling around each other. Mai is not sure, but she thinks she can tell they're the same two monsters as the ones in the picture on the well known Polymerization spell card.

'Nihil Fusion!' Pegasus exclaims as he places the card back in the graveyard. (**ORIGINAL CARD**) 'I can activate it when my life points hit zero. I send all cards on my field to the graveyard. Also, I send a monster from my deck to the graveyard, one which can normally be used as a fusion material monster. As a result, the fusion monster which would normally be summoned by a normal fusion involving this fusion material monster appears on the field. So I sent the Thousand Eyes Idol from my deck to the graveyard to summon the Thousand Eyes Restrict.'

Mai is still gaping. Pegasus allows his words to sink in before carrying on. 'Don't worry, Mai girl. It's not as bad as it sounds. From now on, I cannot play any other cards. In other words, that single monster is my only weapon against my opponent. The only thing left between you and your dreams. Just beat it and you're the winner!'

Mai eyes the thousand eyed monster (no pun intended). It's ATK and DEF points are zero! Of course, obviously, it has some special ability. But, even if Pegasus can somehow give that monster an overwhelming number of ATK points, if he cannot play any other cards, Mai can just keep protecting her life points by playing monsters in defense mode indefinitely, until Pegasuses deck runs out of cards. (Mai remembers that Pegasus has drawn more cards than her so far, so, in such a scenario, it will be Pegasus who will first be unable to draw a card at the beginning of his turn.) So what the hell is that white haired madman up to?

'Now that the Thousand Eyes Restrict has begun opening its eyes, you cannot attack it, Mai girl,' Pegasus explains. 'Any monster of yours that attacks will instantly be paralyzed.' (Even the Harpy Phoenix Formation wouldn't work, because it would count as a simultaneous attack of the Harpies.)

Mai gasps. And she hasn't heard the worst yet!

'When, on my next turn, the Thousand Eyes Restrict has opened all its eyes, it will absorb each and every monster on your field and selfdestruct, thus killing all monsters it has absorbed,' Pegasus carries on. 'Then you will lose life points equal to the total ATK points of your monsters destroyed that way.'

'WHAT?' Mai shrieks, her eyes widened. She looks at her field. She already has one monster out, the Harpy. And if she plays more monsters, it will be worse.

'Hey,' Joey cries, clinging to the railing. 'This monster's effect is totally overpowered, totally...'

'Unfair?' Pegasus interrupts the blond boy with a chuckle. 'Well, this is my island, Joey boy. This is the game I created. I make the rules. I decide what is fair. As long as you are on this island, at my mercy, I am the God! MHAHAHAHA...'

The demonic laugh of the unstable man, who has closed his eyes and tossed his head back right now, reverberates throughout the castle, in a creepy manner.

'My turn,' Mai says, trembling, and draws a card.

Pegasus is still in no condition to concentrate enough to read the opponent's mind, let alone transfer this duel to the Shadow Realm, but it doesn't matter. From the way Mai mumbled expletives when she looked at the card she drew, from the way she set it on the board with a desperate expression, he can tell that this woman has no more tricks up her sleeve. This is her last turn!

'I play the Elegant Egotist,' Mai declares with a sigh of despair as she activates directly from her hand the aforementioned spell card, which depicts a beautiful, flowery pattern. 'It's a card that causes the Harpy to produce two duplicates of herself.' With a flap of her wings, the original Harpy raises her body, a white aura shrouding her. Two new bodies emerge from the white mass, also shrouded in the same white aura. When that aura has faded, three Harpies are hovering opposite the Thousand Eyes Restrict. The second Harpy has blue hair and the third Harpy has orange hair, with both of them having extreme haircuts. All three Harpies land, howling simultaneously. One could say that this triple howl is their sawnsong. Mai's swansong!

'My ladies,' Mai cries haughtily, 'let's die all together. Tonight, we're dining in Hell!'

Tristan and Joey are staring with desperate expressions. Tea sobs and wipes a tear with her sleeve. Yugi closes his eyes and shakes his head in sorrow.

'My turn!' Pegasus cries in an ecstatic state. On cue, the Thousand Eyes restrict has just finished opening all its eyes, which immediately start glowing and emitting wide, green beams.

That moment, Mai smiles. At first, Pegasus interprets that smile as resignation. No, wait, it's a victorious smile!

'I activate my face down card,' Mai cries. 'Spellbinding Illusion!'

Pegasus suffers the greatest mood swing of his life! 'NOOO!' he cries, with his eyes bulging, as a hexagram, the same one that is portrayed on the trap card Mai has just activated, appears around the Thousand Eyes Restrict. The eyes of the monster stop glowing.

'With this card, I can nullify the effects of one of your monsters,' the woman unnecessarily explains. 'Do you know what that means? That now, your supposedly omnipotent Thousand Eyes Restrict is nothing more than a vanilla monster with zero ATK points!'

Pegasus clutches his temples in despair.

Mai grins from ear to ear. Ahh, the perfect symbolism. The three Harpy Lady Sisters, who are essentially Mai's sisters as well, shall now end this tournament by attacking all together! 'HARPY LADY SISTERS, COMBINE YOUR POWERS. TRIANGLE ECSTACY SPARK!'

Each of the three female, winged creatures raises her hands to the level of her chest and begins forming a white energy sphere between them. A white line appears to connect the aforementioned spheres, thus forming a triangle. With the ATK of the Harpies increasing to 2700 for this attack, a large, light purple X mark appears in the triangle. A huge, multicolored blast is fired from the X mark. The blast engulfs Pegasuses monster, until it destroys it.

Pegasus falls on his knees, closes his eyes and slams his head down on the duel board. This time, it's really all over!

* * *

She is sitting in her office, behind her desk, surrounded by four walls a dull, grey color. The room is currently illuminated only by some sunlight coming in through the gaps between the wooden, brown window shutter slats. On the desk, there are some miniature pyramids, a black, obsolete telephone and heaps of paper documents.

She's a tanned skinned woman dressed in a white dress and a veil the same color that cover her almost entirely, leaving exposed only her hands, her expressive, blue eyes and her forehead. Ishizu Ishtar, one of the most important executives in the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.

She's lazily caressing with her silky fingers the golden necklace around her neck. This is not an ordinary jewel. It is the Millenium Necklace! In Ancient Egypt, it was also known as the Millenium Item of Time, for it has the power to show its wielder the past, the present and the future.

The woman is looking at the door, as if she's waiting for someone to enter. Having seen the future, she knows indeed that someone shall enter in a few seconds.

And truly, a knock at the door is heard. 'Come in,' Ishizu calls out indifferently.

A man enters. He's dressed in a green, military uniform. Also, he's wearing a black cap and glasses the same color. He closes his eyes behind his glasses, places his palm on his chest and bows slightly. 'Miss Ishtar, I'm afraid I have some bad news,' he says with a solemn expression.

'Don't be afraid, Steve. Tell me,' Ishizu encourages him in a soothing voice, caressing her necklace, knowing full well what he's about to break to her.

The man gulps. 'I-I regret to inform you that two of the three God cards have been stolen.'

Ishizu does not react.

'Umm,' Steve carries on, tentatively. 'We're not sure yet, but we suspect that the Rare Hunters are behind this.'

Ishizu retains her indifferent expression.

'You-you don't look upset, Miss Ishtar,' the man dares to comment.

'You can go, Steve,' Ishizu replies.

'As you wish, my lady,' Steve bows again and exits the office.

And so, Ishizu is once more left alone. Alone with her necklace. She lazily plays with it a little.

By now, the Duelist Kingdom tournament must be over. And, as Ishizu already knows, since the Millenium Necklace has showed it to her, Yugi Muto, the boy who shares his body with the spirit of the nameless pharaoh, has won it. Let's confirm it.

'Millenium Necklace, show me the present,' Ishizu thinks while placing both her hands on the Ancient Egyptian artifact, concentrating on what is going on on Pegasuses island.

The necklace glows and images start flashing through Ishizu's mind. She sees Mai commanding her Harpy to attack. She sees the aforementioned monster attacking Yugi's Catapult Turtle, thus reducing his life points to 0. She sees Bandit Keith being knocked unconscious by Mai and dragged away by Pegasuses bodyguards afterward. She sees the ship taking Marik and his henchmen to their lair passing by the island without meeting Keith. She sees Mai's three Harpies attacking Pegasuses ultimate monster.

She sees Croquet raising his arm and declaring, 'And the winner is Mai Valentine, the new Duel King.'

'Queen!' Mai corrects him. (Still in Ishizu's vision.)

'Umm, you are right, Miss Valentine. I apologize,' Croquet slightly blushes.

Being in no mood to laugh at that last scene, Ishizu opens her eyes wide, thus cutting off the connection to the Millenium Necklace. She removes her veil, revealing her beautiful face and letting her black hair fall around her shoulders. Her expression is genuinely shocked.

This isn't right. According to the future the Millenium Necklace showed her, the pharaoh was destined to defeat that woman at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals and then proceed to defeat Pegasus!

How did that happen? Sure the future is something that can never 100% accurately be predicted, something that not even Gods know for sure. But this is the first time that her Millenium Item makes such a serious mistake!

With her mouth wide open in shock, Ishizu lowers her eyes to her necklace, still in disbelief. How will such major changes affect the future that the Millenium Necklace predicted? The young woman shudders to imagine.


	10. The Duelist Kingdom's Aftermath

'And now, Pegasus,' Mai cries, pointing at the defeated enemy standing across from her, 'release immediately the souls you trapped. The new Duel Queen demands it!'

'You heard her, Pegasus,' Tea adds.

'Way to go, girl,' Joey gives the Duel Queen a thumbs up, with Mai turning to the balcony and reciprocating with a smile.

Yami Yugi smiles. 'I knew you would do the right thing in the end, Mai,' he says in his head while reverting back to Normal Yugi. Both Normal Yugi and Yami Yugi were devastated when Mai defeated their merged spirits. But now they know that it was for the best after all. I mean, even if Yugi had defeated Mai, he doesn't think he would have found any way to overcome Pegasuses mind scan. But Mai did! She saw through that seemingly collected gentleman, she saw in him what no one else could: a tormented soul, which she managed to turn against him in the duel.

Pegasus falls on his knees, screaming in despair, flailing his arms on the duel board, accidentally knocking his cards off it in the process. The cards are scattered around.

'I lost,' the white haired man thinks, with a tear rolling out of his natural eye, as he picks up the scattered cards. 'I lost the game I myself created! Despite being one of the chosen ones of the Millenium Items, I couldn't defeat an ordinary, mortal woman. I'm unforgivable. Oh, Cecelia, I'm so sorry. It's because of my incompetence that you will never live again. I do not deserve to be your husband. I do not even deserve to live anymore.'

Pegasus turns around and heads to his room, staggering, with a lost expression.

Croquet approaches him, genuinely concerned. 'Mister Pegasus,' he places his hand on his master's shoulder. 'Can I do... do you need anything?'

'Leave me alone!' Pegasus snaps, shoving him away, almost causing him to fall on his back.

On the balcony, Yugi and his friends are gaping. For a moment, they catch themselves almost feeling sorry for Pegasus. But the next moment, they remember what that man has done, so their anger is back.

That moment, Tristan realizes that Mai, too, is gone. 'Hey, where is Mai?' he wonders, looking around.

* * *

Hidden in a wall nook, Mokuba seems pensive. He does not know how to react to the fact that that mortal woman has somehow managed to pull off a miraculous victory against Pegasus.

On one hand, now that Pegasus is weak and his fighting spirit crushed, is the perfect chance for Yami Mokuba to take the Millenium Eye, which will bring him one step closer to his goal: to collect all seven Millenium Items and open that door...

On the other hand, Pegasuses defeat most likely means that he will release the souls he trapped.

I mean, predictably, due to her stupid sentimentality, that woman will ask for that, when there is a bunch of more meaningful things she could ask Pegasus for. For example, she could ask for Kaibacorp, Industrial Illusions, she could financially ruin him, yet she is going to waste her wish on souls of worthless mortals. (Yami Mokuba will never understand that sort of sentimental crap.) Even if Mai doesn't ask for that, there is a chance that Pegasus will do it anyway, since his plans have been ruined and, therefore, he has no need for those souls anymore.

Anyway, now that Normal Mokuba will return to his body, this will kinda... complicate things.

* * *

Pegasus is back in his private chamber. With his hands trembling with despair, he pulls two purple curtains on the wall, thus revealing a portrait of his lover. He looks at the beautiful, blonde woman sitting in an armchair, in a graceful position.

That innocent look in her eyes! Her heart was full of love. She was always so kind, so nice to everybody. She always cared about the others. She always forgave everyone. Oh, she was an angel. Why did such a perfect person have to die? Why couldn't it be him instead?

Pegasus places his palm on the portrait. 'Cecelia,' he says, as if the woman was physically here. 'You don't know how sorry I am. I have failed you.'

However, there is a woman that is physically here indeed, without Pegasus having realized it yet. Mai! The blonde, large boobed woman has her arms crossed and a serious expression. From the fact that Pegasus is talking to that portrait, she deduces that that Cecelia gal is dead. Now she kinda feels bad about the way she talked about that girl earlier!

'I'm sorry for your loss, Maximillion,' she draws the man's attention.

Pegasus gasps and turns around. 'Mai? You? Here?' he rhetorically asks in surprise.

'Umm, duh,' the woman rolls her eyes, her arms still crossed.

A moment of silence, with Mai still having a solemn expression and Pegasus gaping awkwardly.

Finally, Pegasus pulls himself together. 'Umm, I suppose you want to know when I will release the imprisoned souls. Don't worry about that. I will do it soon.'

'Actually, I was worried about you,' Mai admits, uncrossing her arms. 'The way you reacted when I beat you kinda freaked me out.'

'Worried?' Pegasus gasps, his eyes widened. 'About me? After everything I've done?'

To his further surprise, Mai walks over to him and takes his hands in hers! She looks him in the eye. 'All those years I worked on cruise ships, I met many men who would flash their money around, trying to get laid with me. But this is the first time I have met someone who can genuinely love a woman so much.'

'Thank you for your kind words, Miss Valentine,' Pegasus turns his gaze elsewhere.

Mai carries on, 'I hope you're not annoyed by that, but, before you entered, I had a look at your... umm... diary. So I know why you did what you did.'

'It doesn't matter. I failed,' Pegasus sighs in sorrow. 'Now, after I release the souls, all that is left to do is go to meet Cecelia...'

Pegasuses words are interrupted by a slap! The man steps back, clutching his cheek, eyes widened.

'Did you... did you just slap me, woman?' he asks, in a comically angry tone of voice that makes a comical contrast with what was the situation one moment ago.

'Take it as a zen slap,' Mai snaps, raising her fist to the level of her large breasts. 'WAKE UP, IDIOT! Do you think that, even if you had succeeded, you would be happy? How do you think that Cecelia would feel if she found out you had sacrificed a bunch of innocent souls for her sake?'

Pegasus gasps. He admits that has never occurred to him. All these years, he has been so fixated on reviving Cecelia that he never gave any thought to the aftermath!

'It's true that Cecelia died eight years ago,' Mai continues her speech, now more calmly. 'But you, with your attitude, keep killing her again and again. Stop trying to keep in this world someone who no longer belongs here. Let her soul rest in peace. Stop tormenting her. Become, once more, the man she loved, the man that I know you still are somewhere in your stupid heart!'

Pegasus lowers his eyes, dumbfounded. After a few seconds, he raises them again. He smiles. For the first time in forever! I mean, he often smiles to provoke his enemies, but this is the first time in ages he does so with genuine joy!

The white haired man walks over to the woman and gives her his hand. 'Do you want to stay here for a while?'

Mai gasps.

'As a friend!' Pegasus specifies. 'I really need one right now.'

Mai smiles. She believes him. She knows that most rich men have other things in their mind when they ask you to stay in their place, but Pegasus is not one of those men.

'Okay,' she answers, reciprocating the handshake.

* * *

Yami Mokuba is hidden in a wall nook, close to the door of Pegasuses chamber. He hears a loud, female voice. It must be that stupid Mai mortal. But why is she yelling at Pegasus?

Suddenly, he feels Pegasuses fighting spirit returning, stronger than ever! What the hell? What did that woman tell him and caused him to snap out of his despair?

Fuck! Now he can no longer make a move to take the Millenium Eye. Curse you, Mai Valentine.

* * *

Seto Kaiba finds himself sitting in a cell, the door in front of him open. What the... The last thing he remembers is dueling that Pegasus bastard. How did he end up here? Is it one of Pegasuses tricks, that hocus pocus nonsense that Yugi and his friends insist on calling magic?

Suddenly, his eyes widen. Mokuba! Where is he? He has to find him.

Mokuba! His brother. The only person in this fucking world, in this world of cruelty and backstabbing, that really means something to Seto. If that Pegasus creep has harmed him, Kaiba swears he will...

* * *

Mokuba is looking around, confused, shocked. The last thing he remembers is sitting in a cell, then Pegasus showing up, his golden eye glowing and then... he's here, in a castle corridor, with a strange voice sounding in his head. And what is this thing hanging down from his neck? Can it possibly be... a Millenium Item?

Oh, God, so much stuff at once! All this is too much for a little boy to handle.

'Calm down, Mokuba,' the voice in his head says. 'I'm your friend. I want to help you. Just trust me and always do what I say. This way, nothing bad will happen. Okay?'

The boy closes his eyes, tosses his head back, clutches his temples and yells, as if he's trying to squeeze his brains out. 'GET OUT OF MY HEAD!'

The Millenium Ring glows. This causes Mokuba to cease screaming, lower his eyes and stare in further shock. 'You don't want me to harm you or your beloved brother, Seto. Do you?'

'N-no,' Mokuba stutters.

'Good. I don't want this to happen either,' the voice carries on. 'See? You and I are not so different after all. We want the same thing. We are on the same side! Of course, if you keep up this attitude, I'll be obliged to harm you as well as your brother, as much as this will sadden me. I genuinely hope you won't make me do that.'

Mokuba gulps.

Interpreting the boy's silence as obedience, the spirit is pleased. 'Good. I'm glad we have finally begun understanding each other. Now let's go find your brother. I'll show you the way. Behave as usual until I give you new orders.'

The glowing ring rises, pointing in a specific direction. Mokuba starts walking in that direction.

The spirit inwardly chuckles. Controlling a little boy is way easier than controlling a teenager, albeit a timid one such as Bakura.

* * *

Kaiba and Mokuba meet in the castle dungeons.

'MOKUBA!'

'SETO!'

For a moment, Mokuba forgets about the spirit of the Millenium Ring (he has hidden the aforementioned artifact underneath his clothes, on the spirit's instructions) and runs in his brother's arms. The two siblings hug in a tender moment.

'Oh, Mokuba,' a crouching Kaiba says, with his eyes closed. 'I'm so glad you're alright after all.'

Mokuba knows that, with that spirit possessing him, he's anything but alright. But, at least for the time being, he can pretend that all his sorrows are over, that everything will go back to normal. The poor, little boy so wishes that was really the case.

* * *

Yugi and Kaiba meet outside Pegasuses castle. They cross their respective arms and exchange serious looks.

'Yugi,' Kaiba unnecessarily says.

'Kaiba,' Yugi equally unnecessarily replies.

Yugi and Kaiba. Kaiba and Yugi. Two of the best duelists in the world. Their rivalry is one of the most epic ones in the history of duel monsters, even though both of them have lost to other people as well (Kaiba has lost to Pegasus and Yugi has lost to Mai).

Finally, Kaiba is the one to break the silence. He uncrosses his arms and walks over to his respected rival. 'Yugi, I think you know it too, but I will say it. Due to the circumstances, our last duel was not decisive. Sooner or later, we will meet again.'

Yugi wordlessly replies with a smile.

Kaiba averts his eyes and looks at Yugi's friends. They all are staring with angry expressions. Heh. It seems they're not as forgiving as Yugi. As opposed to the multicolored haired boy, those idiots still can't get over trivial stuff, such as Kaiba kidnapping their friend's grandfather and having his bodyguards beat up that old man, thus sending him to hospital for a couple of days or so!

Anyway! 'So,' Kaiba talks again as he and Mokuba are heading to his helicopter. 'To, so to speak, thank that woman for saving my brother, I will give her friends, that is to say you fools, a ride back home. Hurry and get on the helicopter.'

'That woman has a name,' Tea cries, indignant. 'Mai!'

'Speaking of which, where is she?' Tristan curiously looks around.

Croquet hurriedly exits the castle and runs over to the group. 'Miss Valentine told me to tell you that she shall not come along,' he informs them, panting, leaning over with his palms on his knees.

Everybody (except Kaiba, who doesn't give a shit) exchange surprised looks.

'Well, I guess she found some other means of transportation,' Yugi shrugs.

'And couldn't she at least say goodbye?' Joey shoves his hands in his pockets, annoyed. 'What an exasperating woman.'

Croquet produces a folded piece of paper and gives it to Joey. 'She also asked me to give you this, Mister Wheeler.'

Curious, Joey takes it, opens it and... gasps. It's a letter.

_Tea told me about your sister, that night, in the tent._

_Don't get me wrong, Joey. I haven't suddenly turned into a sentimental schoolgirl who has her head in the clouds. Also, I want to stress to you that I still consider you an annoying blockhead. And I think that having to deal with a blockhead like you is enough of a torture for your little sister, so she doesn't need to be blind too on top of that. (Though her not having to see your stupid mug again would be a blessing in a sense!)_

_Give your sis my regards. Even though I have never met her!_

Huh? Why is the part of the paper where that last sentence is written wet? Was Mai crying when she was writing it? And what is that other folded piece of paper enclosed in the...

'HOLY SHIT!' Joey gasps, drawing the attention of his friends, who approach. They, too, cry in surprise when they see that. Mai has given her prize money cheque to Joey!

The blond boy closes his eyes, clenches a fist and sobs. 'Oh, Mai, you're such a... such a... SUCH AN ASSHOLE!'

He bursts into tears, with all his friends smiling and hugging him in joy.


	11. Foreign Memories

Mai is floating. She doesn't remember how she ended up here. She can't tell whether she still has her physical body. In any case, she finds herself unable to control the motion of her... umm, spirit or immaterial body or whatever this thing she currently exists as is. It feels as if she's a feather. A conscious, light feather helplessly carried around by the wind.

Down below, she can see deserts and cities. Cities in ruins and flames. Screams of desperate, dying people are reaching her ears.

Monsters are rampaging and wreaking havoc. Giant monsters. They look like the duel monsters cards creatures holograms, except these are way bigger and Mai can tell that they are not holograms; they are real beyond doubt!

Mai can see dark skinned, well built men fighting the monsters in vain, practically throwing their lives away. The aforementioned men are wielding spears and swords and wearing white headclothes and loinclothes, being almost nude apart from that. Mai deduces that they are ancient soldiers. Ancient Egyptian, perhaps?

Mai has now reached a city larger than those she has passed above so far. It must be the capital of this kingdom. As the previous cities, it is in flames.

Mai can see a really gargantuan monster. It is black and muscular. It has red, menacing eyes, with no pupils, and two rows of sharp, deadly teeth. It also has two pairs of white horns: two horns on top of its head and two larger ones on either of its temples. A giant, serpent/dragon like creature protrudes from where the monster's... umm, manhood was supposed be. Lastly, it has two large wings on its back

Around the monster described in the paragraph above, tens if not hundreds of smaller yet equally grotesque creatures are attacking anything in sight, as if dancing a morbid dance to a rythm the larger monster is giving them.

'BOW BEFORE ZORC, MORTALS,' the black, gigantic monster bellows, its voice resonating through the city, the desert, spreading despair.

A group of people stands across from that Zorc creature. They are unarmed. Mai widens her eyes (or at least that's what she would do if she had her physical body right now). Do those lunatics have a death wish? From their attires, Mai can tell that they're important members of the Ancient Egyptian society. Perhaps royal dignitaries. Wait, those golden artifacts they're holding. Can they possibly be... the ones Yugi and his friends call Millenium Items?

One of those priests (even though her face is covered with a veil, Mai can tell she's a woman) asks another priest (a short, chubby, old man with a white beard), 'Where is the pharaoh, Shimon?'

'His majesty has decided to go to confront traitor Seto,' Shimon answers, his eyes fixed on the giant Zorc creature.

Mai mentally raises an eyebrow. Did he say Seto? Isn't this Kaiba's first name? So that priest who has rebelled against the pharaoh happens to have the same name? Strange?

'All alone?' the woman gasps. (Mai admits her voice is nice and velvet.) 'This is suicide. He is wounded and exhausted and...'

'These are the royal orders, Isis,' Shimon snaps. 'He asked us to stay here and fight Zorc. We most likely cannot defeat him, but at least we can stall him until the pharaoh...'

Shimon pauses, a grim expression on his face. There is no need for him to continue anyway. Isis can tell. The pharaoh is going to sacrifice himself. He's going to seal the darkness, along with himself, in the Millenium Items. This is the only way for Zorc to disappear from this world. The king is going to give his life to save humanity!

Shimon raises the golden artifact he's holding. It looks like a large key. The item begins glowing. 'I summon the guard of the palace, Exodia,' Shimon cries.

The ground opens up and a muscular giant comes out of the rift. His whole body is golden, except his blue mouth and red, pupiless eyes. The ogre's headcloth, loincloth, boots and shoulder pads all also are golden colored, though it's hard to tell whether the above are really garments rather than parts of that monster's body. Exodia! The duel monsters creature that only Yugi has ever summoned, Mai inwardly notes. He is shackled in chains, which are hanging down from seemingly nowhere.

'Exodia, I release you. Lend us your limitless power,' Shimon commands. On that command, the chains break, releasing Exodia's arms and legs.

'Fools. Only darkness is limitless,' Zorc bellows. 'And darkness is me!'

Exodia extends his arms forward, cups his hands together and fires an orange blast, which collides with a dark blast fired from the mouth of the snake protruding from Zorc. The beam struggle goes on and on and on. Shimon keeps his arm raised, his willpower fueling Exodia's blast. Mai notices that Shimon is sweating, trembling. The old man's expression clearly shows he's in agony. On the other hand, Zorc seems completely nonchalant.

Darn. That giant, black asshole is right. Human willpower, which is fueling Exodia's blast, no matter how great it can be at times, is finite, whereas darkness, which is fueling Zorc's blast, is timeless and infinite, having existed forever... or at least longer than anything else in the universe.

Suddenly, as if carried by a strong gust of wind, Mai floats away and reaches a palace. Or at least that's what she can tell this place used to be, before it was ruined.

Among the rubble, two men are standing across from each other. They look exactly like Yugi and Kaiba respectively, except they're wearing Ancient Egyptian clothes! Yugi (or whoever that guy is) is wearing a white garment and a purple cape. Seto is wearing a blue garment and a helmet the same color. Yugi's double is wearing the same golden pendant as the Yugi Mai knows. Seto's double is holding a golden scepter. Mai can see madness and malice in the latter's eyes.

'Your army has been defeated. Your palace has collapsed,' Seto declares. 'You are a naked king. A king in name only. It is only a matter of time before the darkness (_obviously, he's referring to Zorc_) defeats those fools who call themselves priests and insist on supporting you.'

Yugi does not seem upset. 'Seto... why are you doing this? Why have you surrendered yourself to the Lord of Darkness?'

Seto chuckles. 'I have surrendered myself to no one. I fight only for myself.'

'You're fooling yourself,' Yugi insists.

'Say what you want,' Seto snaps, with a dismissive gesture. 'As of now, I am the king!'

Yugi growls. There is no point in trying to talk Seto out of being possessed by the Shadow Magus. Words mean nothing right now. Yugi takes a sorrowful but determined expression.

'DIAHA,' both duelists cry in unison. Even though Mai does not speak Ancient Egyptian, she can tell, from their tone of voice and body language, that they just said, 'Let's duel' or something.

With a mild earthquake, two huge stone slabs come out of the ground and two monsters materialize out of them.

'I summon the Dark Magician,' Yugi cries. The most iconic creature in Modern Yugi's deck, a human formed monster dressed in a purple, hooded uniform that covers him almost entirely, leaving only his hands and face exposed, hovers in front of his master. He's wielding a green rod.

'I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon,' Seto cries. The aforementioned dragon appears, standing on its hind legs as usual, and shakes whatever is left of the palace with a frightening roar.

Mai is gaping. Which monster is going to win? Sure, in a modern duel monsters battle, it would be the dragon's victory, no question, since the Blue Eyes White Dragon has more ATK points than the Dark Magician. But do monster battles work that way in Ancient Egypt too? Mai doubts it.

* * *

Mai abruptly sits up in her bed, in the guest room, in Pegasuses mansion. It's been a few days since she accepted the tycoon's invitation to stay with him for a while at his permanent residence in America.

She's wearing a white nightgown which makes her look so sexy (not that she does not look sexy otherwise!) It's a garment her host gave to her on her first day here. Mai is not sure whether Pegasus bought it for the occasion or just happened to have it. And she's not sure which of the two she prefers to be the case either! I mean, the former being the case would make her feel uncomfortable, while the latter being the case would mean that Pegasus is into cross dressing, which would kinda freak her out.

Or maybe this nightgown used to belong to Cecelia. No, wait, this would freak Mai out as well! I mean, wearing a garment of a long deceased person? Yikes!

Okay, enough. Let's stop wondering about this nightgown's origin!

Mai places her palm on her chest and turns her eyes to the window. A sun ray coming into the room through the glass indicates that it has begun getting light outside. Although it's still a little too early to get up, Mai doesn't think she'll be able to get any further sleep after the dream she had.

What the hell was that dream anyway? Ever since she beat Yugi at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals, Mai feels different. It all started with that sudden migraine she had for a few moments right before her duel with Bandit Keith. Since that day, the migraines have been coming and going. Eventually, they started being accompanied by visions. And dreams! Dreams about Ancient Egypt. Mai has no idea what is happening to her.

Should she talk to Pegasus about that? No, let's not worry our kind host for the time being. Maybe it's just some sort of auto suggestion. I mean, a lot has happened in her life lately. On top of that, she heard Yugi and his friends speaking incomprehensible stuff about Ancient Egypt on the Duelist Kingdom island, so maybe all that cumulative stress is manifested this way.

* * *

Meanwhile, in some unspecified place, Ishizu, through her Millenium Necklace, is watching Mai, unbeknownst to the latter.

It seems that, after beating the pharaoh, that mortal girl gained some of his memories. Ishizu knows that, according to the ancient rules, to gain the power of a Millenium Item, you have to defeat its possessor. And while Mai didn't fight Yugi over possession of the Millenium Puzzle to begin with, which is why she didn't fully gain its power, she still defeated the supposedly undefeated pharaoh, moreover by changing the future the Millenium Necklace had predicted. That feat rendered her partly a 'chosen one'.

But how will that affect the battle against Ishizu's brother? The Egyptian woman no longer bothers consulting the Millenium Necklace to see the future. I mean, after the last inaccuracy (which, come to think of it, was not an inaccuracy but rather outright inability of the artifact to predict the future), how can she trust the Millenium Item?

Ishizu feels scared. Like a little girl. She's no longer the collected woman she used to be, the woman who had everything under control. Ever since it turned out that the Millenium Necklace cannot predict the future, she feels stripped of one of her faculties, she feels essentially disabled.

On the other hand, perhaps that should give her some hope. I mean, according to the future the Millenium Necklace had shown her, she had only a slim chance of saving her brother at the Battle City tournament, moreover, at the cost of her life.

But, if that future is false after all, maybe... just maybe...

Ishizu caresses the necklace around her neck. 'Please, Gods, hear my plea,' she whispers.

* * *

Mai is sitting in the dining room, casually, with her feet on the table. She's still wearing the sexy nightgown we talked so much about earlier.

Ahh, that was a hell of a breakfast. On the table, there are several empty plates, sloppily tossed here and there. The woman produces a toothpick and uses it to dislodge stuff remaining among her teeth after the slap up meal she had.

'What is this mess?' an annoyed, male voice is heard.

Without the slightest surprise in her eyes, Mai turns her head to look at the approaching servant. 'Good morning to you too, Cooper,' she casually says, still picking her teeth.

Cooper is one of those bald, white haired, really old, quaint servants that look as if they jumped out of some 40s film noir. According to what Pegasus has told her, Cooper has been serving the Pegasuses since long before Maximillion was born. Essentially, Pegasus 'inherited' him along with the rest of his father's fortune and possessions. Even though he seems strict, formal and somewhat cold, Pegasus has nice memories of this old guy. When he was little, he used to prank Cooper a lot, to the old man's dismay of course!

Dressed in his black, classy servant uniform, the old geezer gives Mai a disapproving look.

'I got up early, Coop,' the woman explains nonchalantly, carelessly tossing the toothpick away. 'So I helped myself in the kitchen, thus saving you the trouble of serving me breakfast. You're welcome!'

Cooper pinches his nose in annoyance. 'Take your feet off the table, young lady,' he scolds, looking at her dirty soles.

'Why?' Mai asks with a playful but provocative smile. 'Don't you like what you see?' To the servant's shock, she slightly raises her nightgown and further opens her legs, revealing her amazoness themed underpants!

Cooper blushes and turns his gaze elsewhere.

Mai giggles. She's neither a virgin nor a whore. She's a normal woman who loves to tease males that way when she's in a more relaxed mood, without that necessarily meaning that she wants to get laid with them.

That moment, Pegasus enters the dining room, having fully dressed in his red outfit.

Mai gasps. Okay, she definitely did not want that to happen! 'I'm sorry,' she whispers, blushing, as she takes her feet off the table.

'Remember, sir, guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days,' Cooper says to his master as he exits the room. He spoke that loud enough for Mai to hear it as well, but also in a voice low enough to make it seem as if he didn't want Mai to hear it. You know, for the sake of etiquette!

Pegasus chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. Next, he turns to Mai. 'So you love getting on Cooper's nerves too? Can't say I blame you. When I was little, I would get on his nerves all the time. It was one of my favourite forms of fun.'

'Anyway,' Mai drawls, still looking at the floor in embarrassment. 'I'm sorry about that. I really didn't mean for you to see it. Though I guess, being a rich man, you have seen your share of female flesh.'

'Not really,' Pegasus casually sits across from his guest.

Having relaxed, Mai places her chin on her palm and gives her host a baffled look. She knows that Pegasus is not like most rich men she met during her travels, she knows he's not the kind of man who uses his wealth as an advantage to get laid, but still she expected him to have had his share of casual affairs... or at the very least visited some brothel at some point after Cecelia's death, even if he did so just to temporarily forget about his sorrows. I mean, it seems crazy to her that a man in his mid 20s has had sex with only one woman in his life.

Mai has a sip of juice. 'You mean that... apart from Cecelia... you never...'

'Actually, I haven't done it with Cecelia either,' Pegasus lowers his eyes.

With her eyes widening, Mai spits out the juice, almost falling off the chair. 'Wait, you're... a virgin?'

'Cecelia and I had agreed to wait till our wedding night,' Pegasus blushes a little, his eyes still lowered. 'And, on the wedding night, she had the heart attack that killed her before we could... you know... consummate the marriage.'

Mai closes her eyes, places her hand on her lips and tries to repress a giggle. 'Sorry,' she says. 'I know it sounds cruel to laugh at something like that, but I just can't help it.'

Pegasus raises his eyes and gives his guest a comically annoyed look. 'Until then, we had just... you know... kissed a few times.'

Mai pretends to shoot herself. 'And after some kisses, you decided that she was the one and only for you?' she rolls her eyes. 'Welcome to the real world, Max!'

'Okay, I admit I don't have much knowledge of how the real world works,' Pegasus stands up, further annoyed. 'I was born rich, surrounded by servants and bodyguards. I have never even had a walk alone as a normal person! Even during my dates with Cecelia, we were accompanied by guards.'

Mai stands up as well. 'Then let me guide you,' she winks. 'Let's go to hit the town today. Just the two of us. Forget about your riches, your fame, your social position. Today, you're just a nameless, random person off the street.'

Pegasus gulps. 'Will it hurt?' he wonders.

Mai places her palms on the table and leans towards him. 'For starters, take off the Millenium Eye,' she says with a meaningful smile. 'As we said, the point of this is for you to see what being a normal, nameless person is like. We don't want anyone to recognize you. Do we?'

Pegasus gulps once more. Why can't he say no to that crazy woman?


	12. Make Over

Outside an expensive boutique, a limousine stops. The chauffer exits the vehicle and opens the back doors, waiting for his boss to come out.

Pegasus exits the car, along with Mai. 'Thank you, Icarus,' he says. 'Wait for us here.'

'Yes, sir,' Icarus responds, standing straight with his eyes closed and an unnecessarily formal military salute.

Mai chuckles. She can't believe how seriously some servants take their jobs. She could get used to being wealthy! However, right now, she must focus on the task she has assigned herself: to show Pegasus what living a normal life as a nameless person is like. Focus, girl!

As soon as they enter the shop, all workers leave whatever they're doing for later and run over to the two newcomers, gathering around them. The rest of the customers are whispering and pointing fingers, gobsmacked at the entrance of such a famous person.

'See?' Pegasus whispers to his female friend. 'That's what I've been telling you about. When you're someone like me, it's impossible to go anywhere without being noticed.'

Mai nods, flashing a sad smile. On one hand, she'd love that kind of attention. On the other hand, she acknowledges that getting that kind of attention 24/7 can be annoying at times. She feels sorry for that person, who has never experienced simple joys of life, such as carefreely enjoying an ice cream cone on the street with everyone else around minding their own business.

The shop manager pushes the workers aside and stands before what he assumes to be a couple. 'It's an honor, Mister Pegasus,' he bows. 'You have visited us to refresh your beautiful lady's wardrobe, I presume?'

Pegasus and Mai widen their eyes, exchange looks and blush. Their eyes back to the manager.

'Nonono, she's not my lady,' Pegasus chuckles in embarrassment.

'Why?' the blonde woman whispers, feigning offence, playfully raising an eyebrow. 'I'm not good enough for you?'

'Shut your mouth,' the tycoon whispers back, with a comically angry expression.

'Just kidding,' Mai winks.

Pegasus turns back to the manager, who is still waiting for orders without his expression having changed at all in the meantime. 'Umm, anyway,' the wealthy man continues. 'Actually, it's the other way around. This friend of mine (when speaking the word 'friend', he slightly raised his voice, as if he felt the need to emphasize it) will help me refresh my own wardrobe.'

'Just remember that you're still the one who's gonna pay,' Mai chuckles.

'Thanks for reminding me,' Pegasus replies sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

While the manager is showing no emotion, some whispers and giggles are heard among the rest of the staff as well as the customers. Mai thinks she heard someone saying: 'Friends, my ass.'

'As you wish, sir and ma'am,' the manager politely replies and beckons to them to follow him.

* * *

Mokuba is in his room, on his knees, on the floor, and talking to the Millenium Ring. 'Why are you doing this to me?' he asks the artifact, holding it in his hands, without taking it off nonetheless (the spirit of the ring has forbidden him to do so). 'I can't eat, I can't sleep. I have to be alert day and night, to keep you hidden, to make sure no one will see you. I can't even take you off when I'm having a bath. You have isolated me from my classmates, from my friends, even from my brother. Why don't you just leave me alone? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?'

The spirit chuckles with no compassion. 'What I want from you is something you'll find out when the time is right,' it answers. 'For the time being, follow my orders, unless you want something really bad to happen to your brother.'

'Whatever have I done to you?' the boy protests. 'Why don't you just let me return to my normal life?'

* * *

Kaiba stands outside Mokuba's room, undecided. To enter or not to enter? He can hear his younger brother's yells coming from the room. Again! Why does Mokuba talk to himself, moreover so often, lately. What is happening to him? Is it some sort of post trauma disorder caused to him because he was imprisoned by that Pegasus creep who did who knows what else to him?

Kaiba wishes he knew what is going on. He wishes Mokuba allowed him to help him, to take him to some clinic. But, ever since they got back from Pegasuses island, Mokuba barely talks to his brother at all anymore. And, even when Kaiba tries to initiate conversation, Mokuba will either leave without responding or yell at him to go away.

The tycoon bursts into the room. 'Mokuba, are you all right?' he asks with concern. 'I heard you crying and I thought you might need something.'

'Seto,' the preteen boy gasps, still sitting on the floor, and turns his head, shoving the ring underneath his clothes just in time.

He wants to fall in his brother's arms right now. He wants it so bad. However, the spirit possessing him has other ideas. 'Tell him to leave,' he orders Mokuba in the boy's head. 'He's interrupting our conversation.'

'But... but,' the boy stutters. 'Can't I at least spend five minutes with him? Then I'll be all yours again. I promise!'

'NO!' the spirit snaps, still in Mokuba's head. 'Tell him to leave now, or else I'll mind crush him.'

'Mokuba... whom are you talking to?' Kaiba asks, worried and confused.

'GET AWAY, SETO!' Mokuba screams, bursting into tears. 'I HATE YOU. DON'T COME HERE AGAIN.'

Kaiba's eyes bulge, in a manner that would be comical under different circumstances. Did... did he just say that he hates him? His brother? The only person in the world he cares about? Does the only person he cares about... hate him?

With a lost expression, the same one that he had when Yugi was about to beat him at the Duelist Kingdom (in that duel where Yugi finally gave the victory away), Kaiba turns around and leaves, walking like a ghost, not even bothering closing the door behind him.

* * *

Kaiba is sitting at his office, staring into space. On the desk, there is a heap of documents he is supposed to sign as soon as possible or even ones he should have signed yesterday. His empire will crumble if this goes on, but who cares? Who cares if he ever defeats Yugi? Who cares if he ever reclaims his former title as the no1 duelist on the planet? Who cares if he ends up homeless? A world where Mokuba hates him is not a world worth living in.

With a sigh, the tycoon takes out his deck and browses through his cards indifferently. He instinctively stops when he reaches the Blue Eyes White Dragon. This monster embodies so much: his pride, his honor, his drive to crush his opponents.

Kaiba used to be the best. But this feels like ancient history by now. Though, to be fair, he has lost only to Millenium Items wielders, which is kinda cheating if you think about it. I mean, all those tricks of theirs, all that hocus pocus nonsense they insist on calling magic, interfrered with the duels, giving them an unfair advantage.

Pegasus could see his cards. Kaiba still doesn't know how he did it, but it worked regardless.

As for Yugi, that 'Heart of the Cards' thing is not very fair either. Who needs to spend hours of hard thought to build a coherent deck with themes and strategy when you can do just that: Put together some random cards with no logic or coherence at all, preferably cards that no one ever uses because they're useless in 99% of the cases. Then, when your opponent has cornered you with their strategy and deck strength, the result of really hard work on their part, be like, 'Heart of the Cards, guide me' and draw the one and only card that can save you and would be totally useless in 99% of your duels. How is this different from Bandit Keith pulling cards out of his wristbands? (Well, if Yugi was here, he'd definitely raise his objections, but he's not!)

'Excuses, excuses, Seto,' Kaiba mumbles.

No excuse changes the fact that he lost. That he was unable to save his brother. Because, come to think of it, he was not the one who defeated Pegasus and saved Mokuba. Someone else did. That's why Mokuba is free now. Himself, he's useless. A good for nothing brother. No wonder Mokuba hates him.

Kaiba sees a vision of his kid self standing in front of his desk and glaring at him. 'You have failed your brother, Seto,' the kid yells, indignant. 'How can you still live?'

'SCRAM!' Kaiba yells and throws his cards at his past self, who, of course, is not physically here. The vision disappears and the cards are scattered on the floor.

Kaiba doesn't bother picking them up. He doesn't even bother checking whether his precious, rare, white dragons have been damaged.

* * *

Yugi and his main friends (Tea, Joey and Tristan) are walking back to their respective homes, after another school day has ended.

After the group talked a while about Kaiba, who seems kinda off lately (nobody knows why), Tea asks about Serenity: 'So, Joey, is everything going well with your sister's eye operation?'

'Yeah,' Joey sighs indifferently, looking at the pavement rather than at his female friend. 'She's already entered hospital. The surgery is scheduled to take place one of these days.'

'So everything is fine. Right?' Tristan asks for confirmation.

'Yup,' Joey sighs.

'I'm so happy about your sister, Joey,' Yugi gives his besty a radiant smile.

However, Tristan, who is somewhat less naive than Normal (non Yami) Yugi, eyes the blond male. 'Are you sure? You don't look happy.'

Joey abruptly stops, causing Tea, who was walking behind him, to almost accidentally bump into him. Everybody looks at him in shock. Joey glares at Tristan.

'I sure AM happy,' he states. 'Why not be happy? Just because Mai did not even bother saying goodbye? Just because Mai thinks that giving me the prize money can make up for her rudeness? Well, who cares about Mai? Who needs Mai? I'm happy and I don't care about Mai!'

After catching his breath, he turns his eyes back to Tristan, who is trying to repress a giggle. 'Why are you staring like that?' Joey yells.

'Because you spoke Mai's name five times within less than a minute,' Tristan answers.

'I SAID I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MAI,' Joey screams, his head momentarily becoming larger and his teeth sharper, in a Japanese gag manner. He turns to his shorter friend: 'Yugi, tell him. You know I don't care about Mai. Don't you?'

Yugi blushes. 'Partner, what am I supposed to tell him?' he asks Yami Yugi in his head.

'Just tell him what he wants to hear, Yugi, or else he'll punch us,' Yami Yugi answers with a comically frightened expression.

'Can't you just mind crush him or something?' Yugi wonders. (Okay, obviously, he was not serious... maybe a little!)

'Yes, Joey, I know you're not interested in Mai,' the timid boy finally answers out loud.

The gang resumes walking, silently.

'Mai,' Joey says in his head. (How many times does this make?) 'I wonder what she's doing right now.'

* * *

'Wow, Max. You rock,' Mai commends Pegasus for the way he looks. She closes one eye, clicks her tongue and gives him a thumbs up.

The creator of duel monsters is standing in front of the mirror, in his room, gaping at his reflection. Who's that man in the mirror?

He's wearing a black, leather jacket, white, leather trousers and brown boots. His white hair is tied in a ponytail. (At first, Mai wanted to cut his hair shorter, but Maximillion did not even want to hear about it.)

'Are you sure I don't look ludicrous that way?' the man dares to ask.

'Nonsense,' Mai laughs. 'You may be the president of a multi billion company, but you're still young, Max. Stop trying to look older than you really are.'

'I don't know.' Pegasus keeps staring at his reflection, with a troubled expression.

Mai claps to draw his attention. 'So, are you ready for our night out?' she cheerfully asks.

'And what about this?' Pegasus points at the empty eye socket where his eye used to be, before he lost it in a horrific way... you know, the day the Millenium Eye was violently attached there by those tomb guardians. (He has taken the artifact off for the occasion, on Mai's instructions.) 'I thought the point was to look normal. Will I really look normal if I go around one eyed?'

'Sure you will,' Mai casually answers. 'You're not the only one eyed person in the world. Just relax and act cool.'

'And what if someone mocks me for that injury?' Pegasus asks with uncertainty.

'I'll kick their butt,' Mai winks. 'You're welcome!'

Before the man can further protest, the woman drags him along enthusiastically.


	13. Alley Encounters (Part 1)

And so, Mai and Pegasus went out. No bodyguards, no limousines, no nothing. Just the two of them!

And, thanks to the makeover Mai had given Pegasus, almost no one recognized him. For the first time in his life, he was one of the crowd. Not a powerful, famous since birth, heir. Just a normal, nameless person who could go wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, without anyone pestering him.

They went to a super market and had fun shopping and sliding a cart around. They walked on the streets, eating ice cream. They fed pigeons. They frolicked next to a street fountain.

And now, as the sun is setting, here they are, sitting on a park bench, gazing at the sunset.

'So this is what being a normal person is like,' Pegasus opens his arms, tosses his head back and sighs, spent. 'Thank you for showing me this new world, Mai. That was...'

He pauses. He was about to say, 'That was the best day of my life.' But then he remembered how many wonderful days he has spent with Cecelia as well, so, in order not to feel that he has offended his deceased lover, he says instead, 'That was one of the best days of my life.'

Mai jumps to her feet, perkily. 'This day is hardly over, Max,' she claps once.

'Where does that woman get all that energy?' Pegasus wonders in his head.

* * *

And so, Pegasus and Mai went clubbing. It was a fun night, as fun as the day that had preceded it. Well, if you put aside the fact that a jerk tried to flirt with Mai, even though he could clearly see that she was accompanied by another man. But he got what he deserved! When he became too persistent, Mai kicked his butt, in front of the rest of the club's guests!

Pegasus could only gape, flabbergasted. 'Remind me to never make this woman angry,' he made a mental note.

* * *

'Ladies and gentlemen, I think you all know why we are here,' one of the men attending this secret meeting says.

Actually, he should have said just 'gentlemen' instead of 'ladies and gentlemen', since there are no ladies here, but, you know, a slip of the tongue.

The five men are in a small meeting room. The door is locked and the windows are shut. The only source of light is an old ceiling lamp, which is dimly illuminating the place.

The Big Five! The five executives that have been working at KaibaCorp for a really long time, since the company was still run by Gozaburo Kaiba, Seto's and Mokuba's unscrupulous stepfather.

Gansley, the business strategy vice president. A third aged, fat, white haired, bald person.

Crump, the chief financial officer. A short, chubby, black haired, mustached, middle aged man.

Johnson, the chief legal officer. A younger man with a receding hairline. He's wearing glasses.

Nezbitt, the chief technical officer. He has dark brown hair with a widow's peak.

And last but not least, Leichter, the president's right hand man, in other words the second in command in the company. His hair is similar to Nezbitt's, his skin is darker and he has a beard.

'So, ladies and gentlemen,' Leichter repeats, forming a pyramid with his fingers, elbows on the table. 'I think you all have noticed President Kaiba's strange demeanor lately.'

'He seems to have forgiven us. Just like that!' Gansley adds. 'After all we did. After we betrayed him and allied with Pegasus.'

'When I learnt that he was back, I thought we were as good as fired,' Nezbitt remarks. 'Yet he didn't even call us for an apology!'

'Personally, I don't know what to make of all this,' Leichter talks again. 'It seems that he suffers from some sort of post trauma disorder. Something must have happened to him while he was on Pegasuses island. And whatever it was, it devastated him. Even though I couldn't care less about Mister Kaiba's well being, his recent depression is harming the company. If this goes on, KaibaCorp's stock value shall plummet. The question is, will we just stay idle while this is happening?'

'Of course not!' Gansley snaps, even though the question was rhetorical.

'But what can we do?' Crump wonders. 'Our plan to trap him in that virtual reality video game failed. He's been so indifferent lately that he even refused to test it.'

'Well, we could try to legally declare him demented, thus moving him away from the company,' Johnson proposes.

'This won't be so easy, Johnson,' Leichter disagrees. 'We must think of something else.'

Silence prevails in the room.

* * *

Night. Mai and Pegasus are walking on the streets, after clubbing. Without having realized it, they are holding arms!

'Let's not go through this alley,' Pegasus says at some point, concerned. 'It seems dangerous.'

'Chill, Max,' a slightly drunk Mai giggles. 'I can take care of myself. As well as of you! As you saw earlier in the club!'

Pegasus sighs. Against his better judgement, he follows her into the alley.

'Missed me, girl?' a male voice is heard.

Mai and Pegasus gasp. They turn around and see a sturdy, black, bald man. He's wearing a green, sleeveless shirt and black trousers. It's the same man that tried to hit on Mai earlier. This time, he's wielding a club. Not the kind of club Maximillion and Mai went to earlier, mind you!

'You humiliated me in front of so many people, whore,' the man carries on. 'Prepare to pay.'

Pegasus steps back, afraid, trying to shield the woman with his body. Mai, on the other hand, does not seem scared at all. She lets go of her date's arm and takes a step forward.

'Zup, asshole?' she crosses her arms, haughtily. 'Want another beating?' She doesn't care how many weapons this jerk is carrying around. He's just an amateur. A few martial arts moves on her part should be enough to put him in his place once more.

However, that moment, the man smiles in an enigmatic way. Mai raises an eyebrow. Okay, now she's started worrying a little, though she's trying not to show it. What is this creep up to?

On the snap of the man's fingers, a group of men starts coming out of trash bins and wall nooks. They all look like criminals. And, of course, they're all wielding weapons: clubs, knives, iron bars etc

'So, do you still think you can win? Against all of us?'

They're approaching. Slowly and sadistically. From both directions. There is no escape, neither for Mai nor for Pegasus.

Mai gulps and takes a step back. Okay, now she's really freaking out. And she can't hide it anymore, no matter how much she'd like to.

'What... what do you want from me?' she stutters.

'I think you know, girl,' the original man answers, menacingly tapping his club on his other palm.

'Will we take turns with her?' another man asks.

'Yup,' the original man answers, his eyes still fixed on the petrified woman.

'And what about that one eyed faggot?' another man points at Pegasus.

'Dunno,' the original man shrugs. 'Kill him or something.'

Did they... did they just call him a faggot? Pegasus growls in anger. Okay, he may not be exactly macho, his demeanor may have some feminine elements, but that doesn't mean he's sexually interested in men! This is such a stereotype!

Darn. Mai shouldn't have insisted that he took off his Millenium Eye. Neither should she have insisted that he didn't even at least carry it around in his pocket. Thank Gods he didn't listen to the second part of her advice!

'That does it,' Pegasuses booming voice reverberates through the alley, drawing everybody's attention. His expression is now stern, as it was at the Duelist Kingdom whenever he was about to do something really evil, such as trapping someone's soul.

The tycoon takes out his Ancient Egyptian artifact and puts it on.

Some whispers are heard among the men:

'What the...'

'Hey, is that Maximillion Pegasus?'

'I don't care who he is!' the original man snaps. 'Kill the freak.'

'Now we're playing by my own rules, George boy,' Pegasus continues nonchalantly.

The original man gasps. How did that freak know his name is George? He probably just guessed it at random. Yeah, that must have been the case. Stop being paranoid, George!

'The rules are simple,' Pegasus carries on, his eye glowing and his hair slightly raised. He takes out his deck.

With everyone around being too shocked to stop him, he casually walks over to George and hands it over to him. Next, he takes a few steps back.

'Shuffle the deck. Then draw a card and look at it without showing it to me,' Pegasus instructs the criminal. 'Then I get to guess which card it is. We will repeat this process five times. If I guess all five cards right, I win. If I fail to guess even one card right, you win. Fair enough?'

'And why should I play your silly games?' George wonders.

'Because, Georgy boy,' Pegasus chuckles, closing his eyes and caressing his nose, 'in case you haven't realized yet, we're now in a Shadow Game. There is no turning back now, even if I wanted to, until the game is finished.'

Shadow Game? What the fuck is this lunatic talking abo... Some men look around and gasp when they realize that a dark cloud has blocked both exits of the alley. Some try to run through the cloud, only to end up in the same alley!

George, too, is now scared, for the first time.

'If you win, you are free to leave as well as to do whatever you want with the lady and me,' Pegasus explains, with the same nonchalant smile. 'If you lose... well, trust me, you don't want to know!'

George smiles, a bead of sweat on his cheek. Whatever. Let's play. There is no way that nutjob will guess all 5 cards right. He begins drawing and looking at his cards.

Pegasus closes his eyes and starts declaring them: 'Toon World... Red Archery Girl... Stop Defense... Big Koala and, oh, would you look at that, another Toon World!'

George's eyes bulge. All correct! Can't be!

'By the way,' Pegasus opens his eyes, taking a more serious expression. 'I'm sorry about the way your father treated you when you were little.'

'WHA... What do you mean?' George is breathing heavily.

'You know what I mean!' Pegasus answers meaningfully.

George growls. Yes, he knows. But he does not want to admit it!

'Anyway,' Pegasus puts his hands in his pockets. 'Since I feel sorry for you, I'll let you and your friends run away without mind crushing you. Just give me back my deck and leave.'

The cloud dissipates. The gangsters look around for a moment. Then they run away.

Pegasus walks over and picks up the cards that that George guy sloppily tossed on the ground before running away, having shat his pants. He checks them. Fortunately, they haven't been seriously damaged by that stupid man carelessly scattering them.

Heh. He still can't believe he let those scumbags go. Has that woman's presence started rendering him... soft?

Speaking of which, Pegasus remembers Mai. He walks over to her. Mai bursts into tears and falls into his arms.

Pegasus closes his eyes and softly hugs her.

'I was so scared,' Mai admits! 'I thought they would... I thought they would...'

She bursts into tears anew, unable to finish that sentence or even consider what might have happened.

'Sshhh, easy, girl,' Pegasus whispers, comforting her.

And so, Pegasus and Mai stayed there, hugging, silent. Neither of them knows how long. And, as silent as they were, they were telling each other things that no words can convey.


	14. Alley Encounters (Part 2)

Domino City High School. Recess time. At one of the outdoor tables, Tea is having lunch with her main friends (Yugi, Joey and Tristan).

Her cell phone rings. Tea picks it up. When she sees who it is, her face becomes radiant with joy. She activates Skype and beckons to her friends to come close to her. 'Come on, guys. It's Mai,' she whispers happily.

'Oh, really? Great!' Yugi exclaims in joy. 'I can't wait to see her. It's been so long.'

Mai appears on the screen. She's sitting on a bed cross legged. 'Hello, everyone,' she raises her hand.

'Hi, Mai,' Yugi, Tea and Tristan cry, almost in unison, while Joey just crosses his arms and snorts.

'How does it feel to be the Duel Queen?' Yugi asks, without a trace of envy.

'Not bad,' the woman winks.

'Wow, Mai, this bed looks luxurious,' Tristan remarks. 'Where are you?'

'At Pegasuses mansion,' the older woman replies casually.

'WHAT?' everybody cries in unison, their eyes bulging in a Japanese gag manner.

'Yeah, I kinda stay here,' the blonde woman drawls. 'Temporarily. As a friend of his!'

'Mai, are you nuts?' Joey yells. 'That guy tried to kill us.'

'Nobody is perfect, Joey. Get over it,' Mai rolls her eyes.

'Oh, whatever, I'm just so glad to hear from you again, Mai,' Tea exclaims and kisses the screen.

'Likewise, babygirl,' Mai giggles.

With a sigh of irritation, Joey walks away. His friends, who keep chatting on Tea's cellphone, did not notice him leave.

* * *

Domino City High School. Recess time. A few days after the incident above.

Joey is sitting on the ground, with his back resting against the building wall.

Tristan approaches. 'Hey, dude,' he greets his blond friend. He's holding a can of coke.

Joey indifferently reciprocates the greeting with a head motion.

Silence.

'Umm... so...' Tristan tries to initiate conversation. 'Are you still sad about... you know who?'

Joey raises his eyes anew. 'What do you think she's doing right now?' he asks.

Tristan shrugs, taking a sip of his coke.

'I bet that, at the moment, she and Pegasus are screwing each other as if there's no tomorrow,' Joey continues, causing Tristan to spit out the coke in surprise.

Joey stands up. He takes a sultry expression, clutches his hair, slightly bends his knees and starts squirming, doing an impression of Mai: 'Oh, yeah, baby. Yeah, one eyed freak. Fuck me like the whore that I am.'

Joey stops when he realizes that some students passing by have stopped and are looking at him.

'Go away,' he yells.

The students resume their own business, giggling at that last incident nonetheless. Tristan can't help laughing as well.

With a sigh, Joey presses his back against the wall and falls on his butt anew. Tristan sits next to him.

The brown haired boy takes hold of his blond friend's shoulder, in order to draw the latter's attention. 'Listen, dude,' he says. 'You'd better forget about her. I mean, she's considerably older than you. And I think it's highly unlikely that she'll select you over the owner of a financial empire.'

Joey turns his head and glares at Tristan, as if he's about to punch him on the spot. 'Mai is not such a person!' he snaps.

'I'm not saying she is,' Tristan replies. 'But still, you have to admit that the fact that that guy is a multibillionaire gives him an advantage, albeit in Mai's subconscious.'

'I guess you're right,' Joey turns his head back to its original position and starts staring into space.

Darn. Why can't he be a tycoon like Pegasus instead of the comic relief teenager that he is?

* * *

Joey walks over to a gang of female students who are standing and chatting. With confidence.

'Okay, Mister Wheeler, you've got this!' he says in his head. 'Who needs Mai? I can have any girlfriend I want. I'm a charming, bad boy.'

'Hey, girls,' he greets them to draw their attention.

The female teens turn their heads and look at him indifferently, blinking.

Joey sweatdrops. This is not good!

'Hey,' one of them suddenly cries. 'I know you! You're Joey Wheeler. You reached the Duelist Kingdom semi finals.'

Joey smiles. Good!

'Yes, ladies,' he closes his eyes, places his fists on his hips and smirks. 'I'm officially one of the best duelists in the world. Normally, I don't give autographs, but, for beautiful ladies like you, I can make an exception...'

'And then...' another girl interrupts him, giggling. 'And then he was disqualified because he lost his qualification card.'

This sends her peers into a fit of laughter.

'What a moron,' one of the girls comments, wiping a tear. 'I mean, seriously, who manages to get disqualified this way?'

Joey blushes, lowers his eyes and walks away in shame.

He still doesn't know how the hell he lost that card that day. He knows he's usually a goofy person (though he never admits it out loud), but still he was very careful with that card. Is he really that stupid? That goofy? Such a loser? Destined to always screw up because he was born so incompetent?

Those girls are right. Come to think of it, if Mai hadn't been kind enough to concede her prize money, his sister would have remained blind for life. All because of how much of a loser her worthless brother is.

'Let's face it, Joey,' the blond boy mumbles. 'You're a good for nothing bro.'

* * *

Night. Joey is walking in an alley, slightly drunk. He's wearing his green jacket and blue jeans. He's singing.

'No matter what, let the game begin. No matter what, may the best man win. No matter what, we're in this together. No matter what, we'll be friends forever. No mat...'

Suddenly, he realizes that he can hear another song. It's coming from... the dumpster!

'Don't say if I were you. Or tell me what you'd do. How things would be if you were in my shoes. Cuz you're not me.'

Some poor drunk hobo must be trying to get some sleep in there.

Joey remembers that he has some change left after visiting the pub. Let's give it to the homeless person. Though that person's voice sounds familiar, for some reason.

With some effort, he opens the dumpster. 'Hey, dude, here, take th...'

Joey's eyes bulge. 'KAIBA?'

'Yeah, it's me,' the tycoon, who was singing in his sleep, sits up, with a dazed expression and a hiccup. His cheeks are red. He's wearing the school uniform. He stinks.

The blond boy drops the lid in surprise, which falls on the brown haired peer's head, with a loud thud.

Joey gasps, covering his mouth with his palms. Oops, that must have hurt.

Nevertheless, it seems Kaiba is so drunk that he ignores the pain! Annoyed, he pushes the lid upwards, thus fully opening the trash bin.

'Kaiba, what are you doing here?' Joey asks, still shocked.

'Being a worthless brother mostly,' the richer boy laughs and jumps out of the dumpster.

'I know the feeling,' Joey sighs, though he doesn't really understand why Kaiba feels that way.

Kaiba tries to walk away, but he staggers.

'Hey, rich boy, you're not well,' Joey says, trying to hold him. 'Let me help you.'

'Leave me alone, Wheeler,' Kaiba tries to push him away.

However, he's so drunk that he fails. Not that Joey is totally sober, mind you. As a result, they both wind up on the asphalt.

They stay like that for a while, Joey on top of Kaiba. Then... they burst into laughter. With neither of them knowing why.

Finally, they manage to sit next to each other, their backs resting against the dumpster.

'We both are failures, Wheeler,' Kaiba declares, with another hiccup.

'We are identical failures. Twin bros!' Joey cries excitedly.

'Failure bros fistbump,' Seto offers his peer a fistbump.

'Failure bros fistbump,' Joey repeats and reciprocates.

That moment, they both realize that they can hear footsteps. Men in black, hooded cloaks approach, from both directions, blocking both exits of the alley.

Joey and Kaiba stand up, alerted.

'What are those freaks?' the blond boy wonders out loud.

One of the men takes a step forward and removes his hood, thus revealing his face. He seems to be the same age as Kaiba and Joey. He has blond, middle length hair and blue eyes. He's holding something. Something... golden. Something like... a scepter.

Joey notices it and points at it. 'Wait a minute. Is this... a Millenium Item?' he asks, with his eyes widened.

'Is this one of Yugi's friends, Master Marik?' one of the other men asks, seeming to address the one who removed his hood.

'Indeed he is,' Marik smiles, his eyes fixed on the flustered Joey. 'We have found one of them. At last!'

'And who's the other one?' another man points at Kaiba.

'Probably another friend of Yugi's,' Marik answers, without turning to look at the brown haired boy. 'So much the better. I'll brainwash him too.'

Marik starts pacing towards Joey. After years of investigation, his gang, the Rare Hunters, managed to locate the whereabouts of that boy who shares his body with the immortal soul of that bastard pharaoh who ruined his life. Of course, his initial plan was to send someone else first rather than come to Domino City himself so soon.

In the universe the series took place, that someone was Bandit Keith. However, in this universe, things are different.

'Who are you?' Kaiba asks.

Ignoring him, Marik stands before Joey and extends the arm he's holding the Millenium Rod with, about to brainwash Joey.

'HEY, I'M TALKING TO YOU, FREAK,' Kaiba yells.

This draws Marik's attention. He turns his eyes to the source of this annoying noise and... his eyes bulge. Wait, is this Seto Kaiba?

With his arm extended and his head turned to Kaiba, Marik freezes for a moment, pensive. Sure he can brainwash Joey right now, but what is he supposed to do with Seto afterward? He's not sure brainwashing would work on someone chosen by the Millenium Items. Someone chosen by Gods themselves! Maybe it's better to retreat for the time being.

Besides, Marik has an alternative plan too. He has already brainwashed another person he could use to attack Yugi. Let's use that other person instead. When the time is right!

The leader of the Rare Hunters sighs and lowers his scepter. 'Knock them unconscious. We're leaving,' he commands.

'Huh? Are you sure, Master Marik?' a man asks, confused.

'I SAID WE'RE LEAVING,' Marik snaps.

With knife hand strikes in the neck, both Joey and Kaiba are knocked unconscious by Marik's men. Next, the gang walks away.

* * *

A sunray falls on Joey's eyes, thus waking him up.

'Huh?' the boy opens his eyes, slowly and weakly. 'What the...'

He stands up, rubbing his head. He has a headache. The last thing he remembers, he was drunk, then he met Kaiba, then... he blacked out? Gosh, he must have been more drunk than he thought.

His eyes fall on the sleeping Kaiba next to him. Joey lightly kicks him, trying to wake him up.

Kaiba slowly opens his eyes, shields them from the sun with his hand and raises them to Joey. 'Huh? Where am I?' he wonders. 'What are you doing in my room, Wheeler?'

'You're not in your room, rich boy,' Joey rolls his eyes. Next, he crouches. 'Let me help you get up...'

'Take your filthy hands off me, you deadbeat duelist,' Kaiba yells and pushes him away, standing up by himself.

Next, he walks away.

'You're welcome, Kaiba,' Joey mutters, annoyed.


	15. A Mysterious Warning

Yugi exits the bathroom. He's wearing his blue pajamas. He has just brushed his teeth and is ready for a good night sleep. He stretches. He takes the Millenium Puzzle in his hands and looks at it. 'Good night, partner,' he says with a sleepy smile.

He enters his room and... almost screams in shock. In the dark, he can make out a silhouette. Is he... wearing a turban? And what is that thing hanging down from his neck? It looks like a Millenium Item, but, in the dark, Yugi cannot discern any further details or this man's features.

'Do not fear, Yugi. I mean no harm,' the man says, though his voice sounds threatening. 'I am here to give you a warning. Beware of the thief.'

'The... thief?' Yugi mouths.

'He wants your Millenium Puzzle and he shall strike soon,' the man carries on. 'He has neither the honor nor the nerve to face you directly. He shall use one of your loved ones. A person really close to you, brainwashed by him, shall attack you when you least expect it.'

'Which person?' Yugi gasps. 'And who are you?'

After a moment of silence, the man answers only the second question. 'You can call me Shadi.'

Without a warning, Yugi turns the lights on. But Shadi is no longer there. As if he never was there!

* * *

Pegasus is sitting in his chamber, at his desk, and checking something on the Industrial Illusions site. He's wearing a white bathrobe. With one hand, he's holding a glass of red juice. With his other hand, he's sliding the mouse.

Mai, who has been sleeping on his bed (!), sits up and stretches with a smile. It is implied that she is nude, though certain 'strategic' parts of her body are covered by the sheets, so that this fanfic remains T rated. Her eyes fall on her lover.

'Awake already, honey?' she wonders.

'Yes,' Pegasus nods, not taking his eyes off the screen. 'I'm checking out some feedback on my company's site.'

Mai casually hugs a pillow. 'Feedback about duel monsters?' she asks.

'Yes,' Maximillion nods again. 'It's sent from players from around the world.'

Mai puts on her nightgown. She stands up, approaches her lover and gently wraps her arms around his neck. She looks curiously at the screen. 'So there are people who think this game could become better?' she raises an eyebrow.

'There is always room for improvement, Mai,' Pegasus replies. 'I wouldn't be such a successful businessman if I rested on my laurels.'

Next he proceeds to read some players' comments. 'Here, one points out that, as more and more new card sets' booster packs are released, more and more people gain access to strong monsters with over 2000 ATK points, which, when the game first came out, were very few and rare and thus a privilege of players who were either dedicated enough to find them and rich enough to buy them or at least lucky enough to pull them out of a booster pack. As a result, weaker monsters tend to become useless in competitive game.'

'I don't think this will ever be the case,' Mai argues. 'I mean, most weak monsters have effects that render them far from worthless. Besides, don't forget that including too many powerful monsters in your deck is a double edged sword. If, for instance, the opponent plays a card that prevents you from using powerful monsters and you have no weak monsters in your deck, you can't keep playing and you automatically lose. If I recall right, isn't this how you defeated Kaiba at the Duelist Kingdom?'

'Even so,' Pegasus sighs, troubled, 'I still think that I should modify the rules a little, in order to give weak monsters more chances to shine. I could possibly introduce some summoning condition so that powerful monsters won't be able to be summoned right off the bat.'

'Any other interesting feedback?' Mai changes the subject.

Pegasus searches a little, until he reads something: 'Here, one complains about how annoying it is when you gain the upper hand over the opponent and the opponent manages to stall by playing monsters in defense mode for 10 consecutive turns.'

Mai laughs. Although she has included in her deck plenty of cards that can stop the opponent from avoiding losing by doing this, such as Stop Defense and the Shadow of Eyes, she admits that there have been several times in her career when some opponent got on her nerves by stalling in the aforementioned way for many, many turns. Moreover, theoretically, there is always the possibility that some worthless player might cause an opponent to run out of cards this way, thus achieving an unexpected victory, which is not very fair come to think of it. 'Yeah, I, too, think you should fix this part of the rules,' the woman agrees out loud.

'Anyway,' Pegasus stands up and stretches. 'I'll give this more thought later. Now it's time I started getting prepared.'

'Huh? For what?' Mai raises an eyebrow.

'I'm going to Domino City. Have you forgotten, honey?' Pegasus asks, a little annoyed. 'Today is the day that Duke Devlin, the young, talented gamer who created dungeon dice monsters will present his game in public at his store. He has a contract with my company, so I have to be there. Do you want to come?'

Mai caresses her chin. 'Is that dungeon dice thing good?' she wonders.

'I wouldn't have offered that Duke boy a contract if his game had no sales potential,' Pegasus answers, kinda offended.

Mai agrees to come along. After all, this will be a good opportunity to see her friends again.

* * *

In the hotel room, Rebecca Hawkins is restless. 'So, is it time to go visit your old friend, Solomon, gramps?' she nags her guardian, Arthur Hawkins.

Arthur is still wearing his bathrobe, which is an old fashioned, dark brown color. He is sitting at the dining table and reading his morning newspaper while drinking a cup of coffee.

'Be patient, Rebecca,' the older man chuckles, taking his eyes off his read. 'We arrived in Japan only yesterday. There is no need to hurry.'

'But I can't wait to get my revenge on that stupid old man who stole your Blue Eyes White Dragon card,' Rebecca bounces impatiently. 'I want to defeat his grandson, Yugi Moto, in a duel.'

Arthur sighs. Here we go again! He has tried to explain to Rebecca many times that Solomon didn't steal anything; he gave him the Blue Eyes White Dragon on his free will. But that stubborn, spoiled girl just doesn't want to listen!

'Just let me finish my coffee,' Arthur shakes his head and goes back to reading.

Rebecca looks around. How is she to pass the time in this boring hotel room until she gets to fight Yugi? She knows! She can watch the Duelist Kingdom finals. For the umpenteenth time.

Rebecca sits on the carpet, in front of the tv, and pushes a videotape in the player. Mai appears on the screen, dueling in the finals.

'Mai Valentine, the Duelist Kingdom champion, is so cool,' Rebecca comments. 'She is my idol.'

Still reading his newspaper, Arthur chuckles, shaking his head again, this time with amusement. Since the day Rebecca first watched that video, she has developped a feeling of worship towards the Duel Queen. That has caused changes in her demeanor as well. Although Rebecca is 12, until recently, she seemed more like an 8 year old girl or something; she would tie her blonde hair in pigtails that made her look way younger than she is, she would babytalk and she would never part with her teddy bear. Nowadays, she lets her hair down, both literally and figuratively. Often, her attempts to imitate her new female role model result in her acting like an adult in ways that Arthur deems inappropriate for her age. He thinks that Rebecca has unintentionally sexualized herself too much lately. (Well, he really hopes it is unintentional! If it turns out that his little angel is interested in boys already, he will probably have a heart attack!)

* * *

In a dark room, in an unknown place, Marik is sitting on a throne like chair, stroking the Millenium Rod. His face is partly concealed by darkness as well as his black hood. He is lost in thought.

He cannot think of anyone he has hated in his life as much as the nameless pharaoh. It was because of that person, that self proclaimed infallible representative of Gods, that Marik was forced to spend the first 11 years of his life in the darkness. While normal children were outside, playing in the sunshine, he had to sit in a dimly lit, dull, miserable room for hours, learning by heart long, tedious passages from ancient, religious books. While normal children enjoyed their mothers' caresses and lullabies, he suffered his father's lashes over the most trivial misdemeanors. While normal children celebrated their 11th birthday with friends, songs and fun games, he 'celebrated' his with a hellish ritual. He will never forget the horrible physical pain he felt that day. Even if he tried to, the tattoos on his back shall never let him!

And what would his reward for all the above be in the end? Death! That's what his sister, Ishizu, and his father taught him. The only reason that them Tomb Guardians exist is to guard the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. When the prophecy is fulfilled, when that pharaoh returns, they will have to kill themselves, since they will have served that purpose.

In other words, he was born merely to be a pawn. He had no rights. As all pawns, his destiny was to be sacrificed. For the sake of a worthless pharaoh, a person he never met. It is funny that a person he never met, a person he doesn't even know what looks like, whose stupid mug he has never seen, is the person he hates more than anyone and anything in the world. But at least he knows that much: That pharaoh is a 3000 year old spirit. And, instead of remaining dead, as every 3000 year old spirit does, he demanded that generations of people threw their lives away waiting for his return.

This is so unfair! And whenever, in his childhood, he asked Ishizu, with tears in his eyes, why things are the way they are, his big sister, with that exasperatingly apathetic expression on her face, would always give him the same answer: Destiny!

According to the Ancient Egyptian religion, we all are prisoners of our fate. Gods have already decided what will happen to us, which of us will be righteous and which of us will be corrupted.

Even so, Marik eventually managed to prove that wrong. He managed to take matters into his own hands, to escape that underground dumpster his family called home, to determine his life himself.

Still, though, he doesn't feel completely free. Only when he has had his revenge on the pharaoh, only when he has gathered all 7 Millenium Items as well as all 3 God Cards, thus stealing the pharaoh's power, will he be really free from his past.

Marik feels he deserves that power. He knows he deserves that power! It is fair compensation for everything he has gone through in his life. He is sure Gods condone it.

Odeon, his loyal stepbrother and servant, has tried many times to reason with him, to convince him to just let go of the past, to forget about revenge and make a fresh start. But Marik is determined not to let it go until he has obtained total power.

He is not sure what exactly will happen when he places all seven Millenium Items in the Millenium Stone and presents the God Cards before it. But, whatever it is, he sure can't wait to find out.

Marik's thoughts are interrupted by a henchman who has entered the room. 'Master Marik, the person you have brainwashed is ready. We are just waiting for your command to send that person against Yugi Moto.'

Marik raises his eyes and smiles. 'Let the operation begin,' he declares and laughs like a madman.


	16. Affairs of the Heart

Yugi is quivering and twisting and rolling on his bed. He can't sleep. The normal boy is so worried that he hasn't taken off the Millenium Puzzle tonight. He's wearing it in the bed and hugging it.

Yami Yugi appears next to the bed, as an immaterial spirit. 'Partner, you need sleep,' he says.

'But how am I to sleep?' Normal Yugi wonders. 'How am I to sleep after my encounter with that... person or spirit or whatever that Shadi guy was?'

'Whatever fate sends to us, we will face it together,' Yami Yugi tries to encourage his partner.

'Didn't you hear Shadi?' Normal Yugi rhetorically asks, still worried. 'That new enemy will use one of the people close to us in his attempt to steal the puzzle. That means that, from now on, I cannot trust anyone. Not even my loved ones. How am I supposed to live like that?'

Normal Yugi buries his face into his pillow and bursts into tears. When he removes the pillow, Yami Yugi is gone.

Yugi sighs. It seems that even his partner grew bored of his whining and returned in the puzzle. Not that he can blame him!

Suddenly, Yugi realizes that he can hear something. He sits up, alerted. He trains his eyes forward. In the dark, he can make out a silhouette. Is it Shadi again? No, this figure looks shorter and more chubby than Shadi.

'Grandpa?' Yugi cries. 'What are you doing here at such an hour?'

As Solomon approaches, Yugi can discern his features better and better. And then... the boy's eyes widen. His grandfather seems different from usual. His eyes are blank, pupilless. His mouth is wide open, with drool trickling out of it. His face looks like that of a rabid dog!

'Grandpa, what the...'

'GIVE ME THE PUZZLE,' Solomon cries in a distorted voice and charges at his grandson.

Before the boy can react, the old man roughly wraps his hands around his neck and tries to choke him. Yugi can't breath. He tries to fight back, but, being an adult, albeit an elderly one, Solomon is naturally stronger than a short, unfit, wimpy boy who hasn't physically hit puberty yet.

'GIVE ME THE PUZZLE,' Yugi's grandfather or whatever is currently possessing him keeps hollering.

Yugi is being choked. 'Oh, my God, I am going to die,' he thinks, terrified.

Eventually, Solomon's appearance changes. Pupils return in his eyes, his expression becomes more compassionate, his tone of voice more worried, the drool magically disappears. But he keeps shaking Yugi. Also, the room around them transforms. Yugi only now realizes that, so far, everything around him has looked weird, blurry and it's only now that his vision becomes clear. The darkness of the night is replaced in an instant by daylight.

Yugi wakes up, with Solomon shaking him. 'Yugi, YUGI, are you okay?' the old man asks, freaked out.

Yugi places a hand on his neck and looks around, confused. He wasn't being choked. That feeling was just a part of his dream. But his grandfather was really shaking him.

Yugi's eyes back to his grandfather. 'Grandpa? What are you doing here?'

'You were writhing and screaming in your sleep,' the old man explains. 'You truly gave me a scare!'

Yugi sighs and hugs his guardian. 'I'm sorry, grandpa. It was just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about.'

He'd rather not tell him about Shadi. Grandpa went through a lot because of Pegasus recently. Let's not further upset him for the time being.

* * *

Mokuba is descending the stairs leading to the living room of the mansion. He never knows when the spirit of that damned ring underneath his clothes will surface again.

In the middle of the staircase, he peeks. He sees Kaiba, with his body sloppily dropped on the couch. He is unshaven. Some turned over, empty bottles of alcoholic drinks are on the table.

A female servant approaches. She is fairly young. She has black, middle length hair and is dressed in a maid cotsume.

'Mister Kaiba, excuse my intrusiveness, but I'm worried about you lately,' she says softly.

The young tycoon raises his eyes and looks at the servant, as if he saw her for the first time. 'Scram,' he snaps.

Nevertheless, the maid tries again. 'Umm, I've heard the grand opening of a new game store takes place today. The owner of that store will present his new game, dungeon dice monsters. Perhaps you should go. It will cheer you up...'

'I SAID SCRAM,' Kaiba screams, sitting up and causing the maid to step back in shock.

Suddenly, the Millenium Ring underneath Mokuba's clothes glows. The expression of the boy changes. It becomes malicious. Yami Mokuba just took control of the poor boy's body! Normally, the spirit of the Millenium Ring prefers not going as far as to directly possess that body, for precautionary reasons, especially since Normal Mokuba is obedient anyway. But he just felt the energy another Millenium Item emits. And it's coming from that new game store or somewhere near that store. It seems that another possessed person, a person possessed by another Millenium Item, is somewhere in that area. Yami Mokuba wants to go and see for himself!

* * *

Yugi and Tea are walking to the new game store. They are supposed to meet Joey and Tristan there. Originally, they were supposed to all walk there together, but Joey went himself sooner (dragging along Tristan), because, as he said, he couldn't wait to see what that dungeon dice game is about. Actually, his friends know that the real reason he was so hasty was that he couldn't wait to see Mai again!

'So, what's on your mind, Yugi?' Tea casually raises her hands above her head and smiles as they're walking.

Yugi turns to her. 'Why do you think that something is on my mind?' he asks.

'Because I know you, Yug,' Tea winks. 'Under normal circumstances, you would be super excited that a new game is in town. And yet, since we began walking, you have barely spoken five words!'

Yugi turns his head elsewhere. 'Umm... so, Joey has got it bad for Mai, huh?'

Tea raises an eyebrow suspiciously. She realizes that her friend is trying to dance around her own question.

She stands in front of Yugi, blocking his way with her taller body. She crouches in front of him. 'Yugi, what's wrong?' she asks with genuine concern, caressing his bangs and making him blush.

Yugi can tell that this is the real Tea. Thank God she is not possessed by that creep who wants to steal the Millenium Puzzle. He would lose it if something bad happened to her.

'Oh, Tea,' he cries and hugs her, to the girl's shock. 'You're the best friend a boy could ask for.'

Tea giggles and pats him on the shoulder.

Best friend, my ass! Yugi wishes he could tell Tea how he really feels. Curse his cowardice. He has been in love with her since they were little kids. But Tea obviously sees him as a friend.

After Yugi successfully constructed the Millenium Puzzle, Tea's attitude seemed to change. Yugi began feeling some hope, he believed that the Millenium Puzzle had heard his pleas, that it had caused Tea to see him in a different way. Until he realized that it was actually the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle that Tea was in love with. Not himself!

Stupid him! How could he ever believe that Tea would ever choose him, a short, shy nerd, over the real man that his partner is. I mean, Yami Yugi or whatever his real name is has the whole package: he is tall, confident, witty, he emits a charming aura. In short, he is the prince every girl dreams of. It is only natural that Tea fell for him.

Not that Normal Yugi has bitter feelings towards his partner or anything! But still, he's sad.

* * *

Duke Devlin's shop is packed. On a podium installed for the occasion, Pegasus and Duke are standing.

'... and I would like to stress that it is a huge honor to be a business partner of Mister Pegasus,' Duke concludes.

Maximillion clears his throat to draw the attention of Duke as well as of the audience and says, 'The honor is all... yours, Duke boy.'

This sends the audience into a fit of laughter. Duke awkwardly strokes his nape and forces himself to chuckle. After all, Pegasus was only joking... he hopes!

Meanwhile, among the audience, Joey is nervously looking around. Where is Mai? She must definitely be around here somewhere. Tristan could help him find her. Darn, where is that brown haired dimwit when you need him? He, too, has disappeared, all of a sudden!

* * *

Yugi and Tea resume walking. They walk silently for a while.

Suddenly, a blonde girl jumps out of a bush. 'At last, I found you, Yugi Moto,' she points at the boy, with a determined look on her face. She has long, blonde hair and blue eyes. She's wearing glasses, a pink jacket and a checkered skirt.

Yugi and Tea abruptly halt and gasp. The three people exchange silent looks for a while. Finally, Tea breaks the silence.

'Yugi... do you know that girl?' she asks.

The boy scratches his head, until he suddenly gets an expression of realization. 'Of course,' he cries. 'She's Rebecca Hawkins. A child prodigy. She rose to become the new USA champion recently, when Bandit Keith mysteriously disappeared after his loss at the Duelist Kingdom final. I have seen photos of her in magazines.'

The boy takes a step forward, smiles and offers her his hand. 'Anyway, nice to meet you. Though I don't know how you know me or what you are doing in Japan.'

Rebecca is standing opposite Tea and Yugi and looking at them with a confident (and kinda seductive, Tea would add with jealousy) expression and her hands on her hips. 'To answer your questions, I know you because you, too, are famous, Yugi,' she answers. 'You went pretty far at the Duelist Kingdom, reaching the semi finals. Though you were no match for Mai. That woman is awesome!'

Yugi strokes his nape and chuckles modestly. 'Err, yeah, she crushed me,' he admits.

With a sexy hair flip, which causes Tea to look at her with even further annoyance, Rebecca carries on, 'As for your second question, I came to Japan for you.'

Yugi's eyes widen. 'For me?' he points at himself curiously.

'Originally, I wanted to defeat you in a duel, thus getting revenge on your grandfather for stealing my grandfather's Blue Eyes White Dragon,' Rebecca explains.

'My grandfather... knows yours?' Yugi asks, confused.

'Wait, Yugi,' Tea interjects, baffled. 'I thought your grandfather said his Blue Eyes White Dragon was given to him by an old friend of h...'

'NEVER MIND THAT!' Rebecca snaps, tapping her foot impatiently. Next, she continues, 'Anyway, as I was saying, that was my original intention. But now that I saw how cute you are, I decided to let it go and just get to know you better. How about hanging out with me for a while? I know a pretty cool place I discovered yesterday.'

Yugi gasps and blushes. Tea's eyes widen. That precocious girl is REALLY straightforward!

'Umm, my friend (gestures to Tea) and I are going to the grand opening of a shop,' Yugi tries to politely refuse.

Rebecca takes a step forward, causing Yugi to gulp. 'What is more interesting, boy?' she winks. 'A shop or me?'

Yugi chuckles and lowers his eyes, now knowing how to answer. Tea is fuming, though she's trying not to show it.

'Are you scared of some real woman, dude?' Rebecca taps her foot. (This makes Tea think, 'Wait, is she implying that I'm NOT a real woman?') 'Are you gay? Or just not grown up enough yet?'

Ooohh, that hit a nerve! Yugi is tired of being treated as a child. Maybe it's not that his body is slow to hit puberty. Maybe it's his own demeanor that causes the others to treat him this way. Maybe this is why Tea, too, sees him as a little boy she has to take care of rather than a man she could fall in love with.

That does it! Time to grow up, Yugi Moto. Time to show everyone, especially Tea, that you are grown up, that Yami Yugi has nothing that you don't.

Yugi raises his eyes, with a determined smile. 'Ok, I'm coming,' he says to Rebecca.

Next, he turns to Tea and, trying to look cool and confident, adds, 'If you don't mind. Do you?'

'No, it's okay' Tea answers, a little more abruptly than she intended to. She turns around. 'I'll hang out with Joey and Tristan at the grand opening. Have fun, guys,' she says and walks away, her steps sounding more like thuds than steps!

'Awesome, let's go,' Rebecca cries and starts running, dragging Yugi along.

* * *

Mai is in the women's restroom of the shop. She has just exited one of the cubicles and is now washing her hands (and her face a little since she is at it).

Joey bursts in, forcefully opening the door.

Mai turns her head. 'Wrong restroom, Wheeler,' she says sarcastically. 'This is only for women.'

Ignoring that comment, Joey walks over to her. 'So, it seems you get along with Pegasus really well. Right?' he asks, trying to sound indifferent and cool, hands in pockets.

Mai sighs. 'Will you start lecturing me again about how wrong it is to hang out with the man that tried to kill several people at the Duelist Kingdom?'

Joey knows that Pegasuses crimes are not the real reason he feels angry, regardless of what he usually says out loud. The real reason is that he's jealous. Jealous like hell.

'Do you just hang out with him?' he eyes her. 'Or do you also do... other stuff?'

Mai gasps. She never expected Joey, for all his annoying traits, to be that indiscreet! 'This is none of your fucking business, Wheeler,' she responds, still shocked.

Under normal circumstances, Joey would realize that he's going too far, that his behaviour is inexcusable. But right now, he's got too hot headed to realize it.

'Tell me, does that asshole fuck you well? Does he make you scream in bed? Does he creampie you like the useless slut that you a...'

Joey is interrupted by a hard slap, which causes him to fall on his butt! Mai immediately crouches behind him, wraps her arm around in his neck and immobilizes him with a martial art hold. 'For the last time, blond shit,' she yells angrily. 'What I do with my vagina is none of your business. I didn't leave the house of that jerk that my father was only for an underage boy who thinks he's a man to take his place. GOT IT?'

Joey knows that Mai has every right to be mad, as she is. He really doesn't know why he behaved like that. He really doesn't know what got into him.

'I'm... sorry...' he says, trying to breathe.

That moment, Pegasus enters. 'Honey, I've been looking for y... HOLY RA, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?'

'Nothing, honey,' Mai violently tosses Joey to the floor. 'Joey had an accident and almost fell on the floor. Good thing I caught him just in time. Right, Joey?'

Standing up slowly, Joey looks at the creator of duel monsters. 'Yes, everything is okay, Pegasus,' he says. 'It was my fault.'

The white haired man doesn't look convinced.

'I mean it was my fault that I stumbled,' Joey tries a save. 'I should have been more careful.'

The blond boy exits the restroom, with Max watching him in shock.

When Joey has left, he turns to his lover. 'Mai, what happened?' he asks with his arms crossed and a serious expression.

'Honestly, it was nothing, Max,' Mai smiles and wraps her arm around his. 'Let's go back to the main hall.'

Pegasus sighs and opts to believe her. He is not currently wearing the Millenium Eye, so he can't read her mind to confirm it. Then again, if he felt the need to count on the Millenium Eye every time in order to find out whether his lover is lying, that relationship wouldn't be a very trusting one, would it?

* * *

Tea is walking to Duke Devlin's store. Yet she can't stop thinking about Rebecca and Yugi. She wonders what they're doing right now.

Oh, why does she care? After all, Yugi is just a friend. Right? The spirit of the Millenium Puzzle is her true love interest. Then why can't she take her fucking mind off those two? Wait, did she just swear?

Tea stops walking and sighs. She closes her eyes and places a hand on her forehead. 'Gosh, what is happening to me?' she wonders out loud.

She turns around. She looks in the direction Yugi and Rebecca went in. 'If I hurry, I might find them before they get too far,' she keeps talking to herself.

She knows that what she's about to do is stupid and immature. Yet, against her better judgement, she does it. She runs in the direction Yugi and Rebecca went in.

* * *

Outside an abandoned factory, Yugi and Rebecca are sitting on a wooden container and... making out.

Hidden behind another container, Tea peeks at them. She gasps.


	17. Taking the Mask Off

Yugi and Rebecca keep making out, with Tea watching them unbeknownst to them.

Rebecca's hands are around Yugi's neck. The girl seems confident, in charge of the situation. Yugi, on the other hand, feels lost. Not that he is not enjoying this, mind you! At some point, the girl lowers one hand, takes Yugi's hand and places it on her chest. Next, she takes his other hand and places it on her ass.

Yugi moans. Finally, he decides to take some initiative. He drives his hand on Rebecca's ass underneath the girl's skirt. He feels her soft skin. Man, this feels good!

Rebecca breaks the kiss, so that both of them can catch their breath. She looks at the boy in the eye, caressing him.

'Wow, that escalated pretty quickly,' Yugi pants, excited.

That moment, it strikes Yugi that Rebecca is only 12, whereas he, though looking the same age as her, is actually 16! What he's doing right now is borderline illegal!

'This is only the beginning, boy,' the girl leans and whispers in the boy's ear with a meaningful smile.

To Yugi's huge surprise, she stands up and... starts taking off her pink jacket. Slowly and seductively. The boy gulps. He's not sure anymore who is statutorily raping whom here!

Rebecca proceeds to remove the blue shirt that she was wearing underneath her jacket, thus exposing her chest. Her breasts are still tiny, but they're still enough to cause Yugi's eyes to momentarily turn into hearts in an ecchi gag scene.

Rebecca places her palms on her exposed knees and leans forward, towards Yugi. 'So, won't you undress too, boy?'

'Umm, I don't know,' Yugi gulps with uncertainty.

'Come on, stop being a scared little child,' Rebecca laughs and playfully ruffles his hair.

'I'm not scared,' Yugi snaps, abruptly standing up. Rebecca does NOT step back.

Yugi recalls his duel against Mai at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals. That day, his partner in the puzzle was pleading with him for them to fight together in order to beat Mai, but Yugi was too scared to let the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle help him. His fear cost him the match that day. And although everything turned out well in the end, Yugi knows that he was just lucky that Mai managed to fix everything; it was not his own doing that his grandpa was finally saved. That's why Yugi never fully forgave himself for the cowardice he showed that day.

'No, Yugi Moto is no longer a coward,' the boy says in his head determinedly and begins undressing!

First, he takes off the Millenium Puzzle. He looks around, searching for a spot to place it.

Rebecca reaches for the artifact. 'I can hold it for you until you get undressed,' she giggles.

'Okay,' Yugi cheerfully agrees and gives the puzzle to her. Next, he's about to take off his jacket.

However, at that point, he realizes that Rebecca's expression suddenly changed. 'Want a piece of knowledge, boy?' she asks with an enigmatic smile.

'What piece of knowledge?' Yugi gives her a baffled look.

Rebecca continues, 'According to the ancient rules, if you willingly give your Millenium Item to someone, for whatever reason, that someone has the right to challenge you into a duel over it. And if that someone wins, the powers of that Millenium Item are theirs.'

Yugi gasps and steps back. 'You are... you are...'

'You can call me Marik,' Rebecca cries. Her voice is now distorted, as if someone else is speaking through her body.

'YOU BASTARD!' Yugi screams. 'You are abusing a child in order to achieve your goals? You disgust me.'

The possessed girl takes a serious and sad expression. 'I, too, was a child when I was abused in horrific ways. And nobody gave a shit!'

'And do you think that taking my Millenium Puzzle will fix that?' Yugi argues, still angry.

'I'm not going to discuss with you the reasons that I want your puzzle,' Rebecca says. 'In any case, if you want it back, you have to defeat me in a duel.'

Yugi sighs. It seems there is no other way out of this. He has to fight. Except that this time he has to fight all alone. Without the help of the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle. Without the help of his friends. But he has to win somehow.

The boy clenches his fists and takes a determined expression. He's not going to let down his partner again as that day at the Duelist Kingdom semi finals. 'Partner... I'll get you back,' he thinks.

'Okay, Marik,' he says out loud. 'Where will we duel?'

Rebecca points at the factory. 'There is a duel arena in there,' she says, her voice still distorted. 'Let's go.'

The two kids enter the building, with the possessed Rebecca not bothering putting her clothes back on!

Still hidden behind the container, Tea is shocked. She does not know what to do. Should she go in and support Yugi? Or run to find Joey and Tristan and tell them what happened?

* * *

'TRISTAN!' Joey snaps.

At last, he found him. The brown haired boy is surrounded by girls he just met at the after-party that is currently taking place.

'Hey, Joey,' Tristan casually waves. Next, he turns back to the girls and says to them, 'This is my protege, Joey.'

'Protege?' the girls ask with interest while giggling and feeling Tristan's muscles.

'I taught him everything he knows about duel monsters,' Tristan brags. 'Because, I forgot to tell you earlier, I'm a duel monsters expert.'

'A what?' Joey snaps, clenching his fists.

Ignoring his friend's annoyance, Tristan carries on, 'Thanks to my wise guidance, Joey reached the Duelist Kingdom semi finals. And I bet he would have won the tournament if he hadn't lost his qualification card.'

'He lost his qualification card?' one of the girls shrieks. Next she bursts into laughter, with the other girls soon joining her in it.

'Tristan,' Joey growls, tightening his fists. 'Did you know that I'm only half Japanese? My father is from Brooklyn.'

'Umm... cool,' Tristan replies, oblivious, revelling in the girls' caresses and attention. 'So what?'

'Have you ever tasted Brooklyn rage?' Joey rhetorically asks.

That moment, Duke Devlin walks over to them, holding a glass of some beverage. 'Hey, girls. Are you having a good time in my store?'

The fickle and shallow girls immediately feel attracted to Duke. They forget about Tristan and surround the creator of dungeon dice monsters like bees.

'Do you want me to show you around the shop and tell you about the game I created?' Duke asks the girls.

'Sure,' they all drawl simultaneously, their eyes transformed into hearts.

Duke walks away with the girls. Tristan snorts. Joey chuckles, approaches his friend, takes Tristan's hand and raises it to the level of the latter's face. 'This palm is your only girlfriend, dude,' he laughs, eliciting a friendly punch from the brown haired boy.

* * *

Yugi and the possessed girl are standing at the duel arena, across from each other. Rebecca has put the Millenium Puzzle down, next to her.

'Time to duel,' they both unnecessarily cry as the meters set each player's life points to 2000.

'Ladies first,' Rebecca declares that she's making the first move.

'Except you're not a lady,' Yugi retorts.

'Oh, really?' Rebecca giggles in a distorted voice. And, grabbing and squeezing her barely visible breasts, she continues, 'Do these lie?'

Yugi sighs, sickened by Marik's sense of humor.

'Okay, let's get down to business,' the possessed girl gets serious. 'I play the Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in defense mode.'

A woman with long, purple hair appears. She's wearing a black, maxi dress that leaves her shoulders exposed. Her eyes are closed. Either because she's blind or because she's currently praying, Yugi guesses.

'My turn,' Yugi draws. 'I summon the Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode.'

A blond knight appears on the field. His outfit consists of a purple cape, brown armor, beige trousers, green shoulder pads and a helmet the same color. Lastly, he is wielding a sword. To highlight his entrance, the warrior makes a whoosh sound with his weapon.

'Celtic Guardian,' the boy cries. 'Attack! Silverblade Slash!'

The Celtic Guardian charges at the practically defenseless woman and, with no remorse, cuts her into two with his sword. The witch subsequently breaks into one million tiny pieces. Since she was in defense mode, Rebecca's life points stay the same.

'And now, the witches effect is activated,' the possessed girl declares. 'I get to add 1 monster with 1500 or less DEF points to my hand.'

As Rebecca searches her deck, Yugi curses. That effect is tricky; a clever opponent can use it to gain instant access to a really powerful monster.

'As opposed to what you might think, Yugi,' Marik thinks as the body he possesses moves one monster card from the deck to her hand, 'I don't intend to beat you with raw force.'

'It's your turn again,' Yugi declares with a hostile expression.

'I play Sangan (1000/600) in defense mode,' Rebecca declares and places another monster card on the board horizontally.

A strange creature appears on the field. It looks like a light brown hairball. It has long, green arms, feet the same color and no legs at all! Also, it has sharp, long, grey claws at the tips of all its digits. On its hairy body, there are three yellow eyes. The monster smiles, revealing its sharp teeth.

Yugi raises an eyebrow. So Marik didn't choose a powerful monster after all? Anyway.

'Celtic Guardian, attack again!'

The blond warrior kills Sangan too, in the same manner he killed the Witch of the Black Forest earlier.

'And now, thanks to Sangan's effect, I get to add another monster from my deck to my hand,' Rebecca declares nonchalantly. 'This time, one with 1500 or less ATK points.'

'What is he up to?' Yugi inwardly wonders. 'Is he trying to gather some specific monsters in his hand in order to carry out some plan?'

Marik checks his hand, through Rebecca's eyes. 'Good. Almost there,' he thinks. 'But I'd better get rid of that annoying Celtic Guardian too. His effect prevents any monster with 1900 or more ATK points from destroying him. This can be a nuisance in the long run.'

Rebecca activates a magic card from her hand. 'Tribute to the Doomed,' she cries. It's a card that depicts a mummy embalming another mummy! 'By sending 1 card from my hand to the graveyard, I get to destroy 1 of your monsters. Just like that!'

Yugi gasps. Bandages emerge from the square the Celtic Guardian is standing on. The bandages are wrapped all over the monster, which is violently dragged underground, screaming and dying of asphyxiation.

'Lastly, I play the Millenium Shield (0/3000) in defense mode.'

A large, red shield appears on the field. On it, there is an embroidery design of a golden eye that looks like Pegasuses Millenium Eye.

'3000 DEF points?' Yugi inwardly snaps. 'Darn, how am I supposed to get through that?'

'Everything is going according to my plan,' Marik inwardly says as the possessed Rebecca is ominously looking at her foe. 'As of the next turn, I'll drive you deeper and deeper into your grave, Yugi.'

* * *

Tea has made up her mind. She will go in the building to support Yugi.

She knows that, if she does that, she will have to admit that she secretly followed him in the first place. She knows that she will seem a jealous bitch this way.

But she doesn't care. She can't leave Yugi alone now that he needs her more than ever.


	18. From the Bottom of Her Heart

In an abandoned factory, where no living thing other than rats has set foot in a really long time, where a duel arena is conveniently located nonetheless (for some reason), a duel is taking place right now. In fact, one of the duels with the highest stakes in the history of duel monsters (both modern history and ancient history; because let's not forget that this game was played in Ancient Egypt too, albeit with real, bloodthirsty beasts instead of cards). Yugi Muto versus Rebecca Hawkins. Or, more correctly, Yugi Muto versus Marik Ishtar, since the latter is Yugi's true opponent. Marik, a tormented soul, whose life has made him so bitter as to abuse a little girl in a sadistic duel over the Millenium Puzzle.

It's Yugi's turn again. He has nothing that can defeat the Millenium Shield, a wall monster with 3000 DEF points. But he has to play a monster anyway for the duel to continue. 'I play the Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode.'

A winged, golden, serpent like dragon appears, hovering above one of the squares on Yugi's field. It highlights its entrance with a flap of its wings and a dragon cry.

Back to Rebecca. 'And now, Yugi,' she says in a distorted voice, 'I equip this spell card to the Millenium Shield. Ring of Magnetism!'

The possessed girl places from her hand on the board a spell card depicting a badly aged hand wearing a glowing, green ring. Almost the very next moment, a larger version of the aforementioned ring appears on the field, surrounding Rebecca's monster, whose DEF points surprisingly drop from 3000 to 2500.

Yugi raises an eyebrow. Why did she play a card that made her monster weaker?

'Next,' Rebecca continues, placing one more card from her hand on the board, 'I play the Cannon Soldier (1400/1300) in defense mode and end my turn.'

A large robot appears on the field. Its limbs are purple, its torso is green and a tank cannon protrudes from its faceless head. With its legs making a mechanical sound, it kneels down into a defensive position.

Yugi gasps. In this early duel monsters era, when duels are still played with only 2000 life points, the Cannon Soldier is one of the most dangerous creatures in the game. By sacrificing another monster on their field, a player can command the Cannon Soldier to perform its special attack, outside of the battle phase, inflicting 500 points of direct damage on the opponent! Yugi has to get rid of that monster as soon as possible. In fact, right now!

'Curse of Dragon, attack the Cannon Soldier,' the boy cries anxiously, pointing at Rebecca's monster.

The dragon obeys Yugi's command and breaths fire. However, at that moment, something unexpected happens: The fire changes course and hits against the Millenium Shield! Even with 500 fewer DEF points than before, Rebecca's wall monster is still strong enough to withstand that attack. And although the Curse of Dragon remains on the field, since its attack against a defensive monster failed, the difference between the Millenium Shield's DEF and the attacking monster's ATK is inflicted as damage on Yugi.

'Your hell begins, Yugi,' Rebecca smiles, in a distorted voice and a sadistic tone thereof, as the life points of the boy decrease from 2000 to 1500.

The gasping lad does not bother asking. He has figured this out already; now that the Millenium Shield is equipped with the Ring of Magnetism, all Yugi's attacks will end up targeted at that monster. And, with 2500 DEF points, it's unlikely that Yugi will find a way to destroy it anytime soon!

'My turn again,' Rebecca triumphantly draws one more card. 'I play a second Witch of the Black Forest.'

A monster identical to the female one Yugi's Celtic Guardian slew earlier appears on the field. Yugi is not sure whether Marik played it in attack or defense mode, but it doesn't matter anyway. He's obviously going to sacrifice it right away in order to activate the Cannon Soldier's effect.

And indeed, as Yugi predicted: 'Now I switch the Cannon Soldier into attack mode.'

The machine straightens its legs, ominously. Yugi mumbles curses.

'Next, I tribute the Witch of the Black Forest. CANNON SOLDIER, CONDUCT YOUR SPECIAL ATTACK!'

The beautiful witch uncomplainingly turns into ectoplasm or something, which fuels the Cannon Soldier's cannon. The latter fires a blast which bypasses the Curse of Dragon and ends up hitting Yugi, causing a vibration which makes the boy wince as his life points further drop from 1500 to 1000.

'And of course, since the Witch of the Black Forest was sent to the graveyard, thanks to her effect, I get to add 1 more monster from my deck to my hand,' Rebecca casually explains.

'This isn't good,' the boy thinks, a bead of sweat on his temple, as he checks his hand. 'Unless I find a way out of this now, on her next turn, Rebecca will play another monster, then sacrifice that monster along with the Millenium Shield, in order to activate the Cannon Soldier's effect twice in a row. Then I will take 1000 points of direct damage and my life points will fall to zero.'

'Before I end my turn,' Rebecca declares, 'I also equip one more spell card to the Millenium Shield. Heart of Clear Water!'

'SON OF A...' Yugi cries in despair as the possessed girl places on the board a spell card that depicts a red heart. It doesn't look like the hearts drawn on Valentine Day cards, but rather like what a human heart really looks like! Also, there is a face on it. The aforementioned face has an expression of agony.

The aforementioned heart appears on the field and attaches itself to the Millenium Shield. 'This card can be equipped only to monsters with less than 1300 ATK points,' Rebecca unnecessarily explains. 'As long as this heart is on the Millenium Shield, that monster cannot be destroyed in battle or by effects that target it. In other words, even in the unlikely case you summon a monster strong enough to overcome my shield's 2500 DEF points, you still won't be able to destroy it. And the Ring of Magnetism will force you to attack only my shield every time you declare an attack!'

Yugi's eyes bulge in despair. This is one of the most ingenius combos he has ever seen. He doesn't know whether Rebecca really is that good herself or Marik's control improves her dueling skills. Either way, now he cannot touch the Cannon Soldier. Will he... (Yugi gulps)... will he lose on the next turn?

Marik causes the possessed girl to giggle, in her normal voice this time, in a manner that would seem so cute under different circumstances. Next, with her voice distorted anew, Rebecca points at Yugi and says, 'On my next turn, the puzzle is mine.'

* * *

Yami Mokuba is walking on the street, this time wearing the Millenium Ring in plain sight instead of hiding it underneath his clothes. The ornaments that normally just hang down from the ring are now raised, pointing in the direction Yami Mokuba has to go in to reach the place the Millenium Item signals are coming from.

'Show me the way to our enemy, ring,' the possessed boy caresses his Millenium Item with a malicious smile. 'If everything goes well, soon, I'll expand my Millenium Item collection.'

* * *

Yugi closes his eyes, trying to resist his urge to cry, which would give Marik further satisfaction. So will he lose his partner forever? Can he only spend his next turn watching helplessly until Rebecca's next turn comes, which will mark his loss?

Stupid him! How could he ever believe that he could win without his partner? It was the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle that always won the duels, it was the spirit of the Millenium Puzzle that always made everything right. That's why Yami Yugi insisted that Yugi let him help him during his duel with Mai. Because he, too, knew that, without him, Normal Yugi is just... normal. A timid, good for nothing nerd. And, just as Yugi couldn't defeat Mai without his partner's help, he cannot win this duel either. It was futile to even try in the first place!

'You'll be better off without me, partner,' Yugi says in his head, surrendering to his fate. 'I don't deserve your help. I wish I had never found the Millenium Puzzle in the first pla...'

'YUGI!' a female voice interrupts his thoughts.

Yugi opens his eyes and turns his head, surprised. 'Tea? What are you doing here?'

Marik causes Rebecca to turn her head and give the female newcomer an annoyed look.

'I'll always be here for you, Yugi,' Tea says, with her hand on her chest. 'I'll never leave you alone.'

A tear rolls out of the boy's eye. 'Oh, Tea...'

'You see, Yugi,' Tea closes her eyes, her hand still on her chest, 'when you first found the Millenium Puzzle and the other you became part of our lives, I thought I was in love with him while I still saw you as a friend. But now I realize that I cannot treat you and him as different persons. In a sense, you are different persons, but, in another sense, you are not. You are a dual entity!'

Yugi gasps, blushing.

Tea opens her eyes, raises them to Yugi and concludes her confession, 'You are my beloved duality. I have exactly the same feelings both for you and for the other you! If I lose one of you two, I might as well have lost you both. So, please, Yugi, win. I know you can do it. Because you are the same person as the other you. If the other you could do it, so can you!'

Yugi smiles. Now he knows why his partner wanted them to fight togehter. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in Normal Yugi's abilities. It was that his partner and he always fight together. Because, in a sense, they are the same person. They are, as Tea put it, a dual entity. Yugi smiles at the woman. 'Thanks, Tea. You were here when I needed you most,' he says in his head.

With his eyes blazing with resolve, Yugi turns to Rebecca. 'My turn,' he cries.

With his doubts cast away, he draws his next card. He has no idea what his relationship with Tea will be like from now on, after that confession of hers. But he can find that out later. At the moment, only one thing matters in the world: to win this duel!

Yugi looks at his newly drawn card and smiles. 'I play the Summoned Skull (2500/1200), in attack mode.'

A large demon appears on the field. His muscular body consists of white as well as of purple areas. He has two large, blue wings and long, black, sharp claws. On his white head, there are two long, curvy horns the same color. His mouth and tiny, pupilless, green eyes are frozen in a toothy, menacing expression. The monster produces a demonic growl.

'I don't think this will help you,' Marik casually says, unnecessarily commanding Rebecca to lazily swirl her finger around one of her naked nipples.

'I'm not done yet,' Yugi continues determinedly. 'I play a spell card. Brain Control!'

Rebecca gasps as Yugi places on the board a card that depicts a (presumably human) brain, with two green hands over it. The aforementioned hands appear on the field and hover above the Millenium Shield for a moment. Next, they grab that monster and take it to Yugi's field, where it will be under Yugi's control for this turn.

'Since I cannot destroy your exasperatingly annoying shield, I'm gonna sacrifice it,' Yugi snaps his fingers. 'I play a ritual spell card. Ritual of the Elements!' (**ORIGINAL CARD**)

Yugi places a ritual spell card on the board. Two pots appear on the field, one behind the hovering Curse of Dragon and one behind the Millenium Shield. The two monsters are sucked into the respective pots as the Summoned Skull kneels in order to receive the new power that is going to be bestowed on him.

When Yugi played the Black Luster Ritual against Mai (in a parallel universe, that is, since, in this one, he never got to play it), one compatible monster was sacrificed to the darkness while another compatible monster was sacrificed to the light; this transformed Gaia the Fierce Knight into the Black Luster Soldier. Likewise, in the same parallel universe, with another ritual card, he transformed the Dark Magician into the Magician of Black Chaos, in his duel against Pegasus.

This time, the Curse of Dragon, being a fire breathing monster, is offered as an appropriate sacrifice to the element of fire, while the Millenium Shield (with its magnetic ring rendering it compatible) is offered to the element of thunder. As a result of the collision of the elements, a portal to the chaos opens, transforming the Summoned Skull.

'Meet the sovereign of the elements,' Yugi introduces the transformed monster as it is standing up. 'This is the strongest monster my deck can produce! DEMONIC MONARCH (3200/1800).' (**ORIGINAL MONSTER**)

The former Summoned Skull is now different from before. The purple areas on his body have turned blue. His eyes have become red and larger. His mouth is no longer frozen in that toothy expression, with his teeth having become sharper and his wisdom teeth kinda protruding out of his mouth. Also, he's now wearing a black cape, which he flaps in order to highlight his new state.

'Demonic Monarch,' Yugi points a finger. 'Attack the Cannon Soldier.'

The Demonic Monarch raises his arms, in the same manner he used to do so as Summoned Skull, except this time he fires a blast that consists of fire with electric sparks surrounding it. The super powerful blast hits the Cannon Solider, which is obliterated.

'MOTHERFUCKER,' Marik cries through Rebecca's mouth as his life points drop to 200.

'My mother is dead, bastard,' Yugi unnecessarily explains, with a solemn expression.

'ALMOST THERE, YUGI,' Tea cries, bouncing. 'YOU'VE GOT THIS!'

'Wrong, mortal woman,' Marik thinks, as a malicious smile forms on the possessed girl's face. 'He's got nothing!'


	19. Girl Released

Yami Mokuba is standing outside the abandoned factory. This is where the signals from Yugi's Millenium Puzzle as well as from the Millenium Item possessed person are coming from. Furthermore, he can feel two large dueling auras flaring up. Is a duel taking place in this hovel? And yet everything points to that being the case!

Okay, let's get in. But not through the main entrance. Yami Mokuba prefers not to be seen at first, just in case it turns out that it is in his best interest to act in secret.

* * *

'Make your move, Marik,' Yugi haughtily cries. 'Unless you want to give up already.'

The possessed girl chuckles and draws a card. She checks her hand. Right now, she has no cards on the field and 4 cards in her hand: The Shadow Ghoul, the Judgement Blaster and two weak, vanilla monsters. The Judgement Blaster/Shadow Ghoul combo could turn the duel around, except she needs 3 more cards in her hand to perform it. Which is where the cards hidden in her high socks come into play!

To Yugi's and Tea's shock, Rebecca drives one hand under her skirt, takes off her underpants and spins them around her finger, seductively! They are blue, with red strawberry designs on them. 'By the way, Yugi, do you like my panties?' She's doing this with one hand, just to distract Yugi and Tea, while, with the other hand, she surreptitiously swaps her two weak, vanilla monsters with the two cards hidden in her socks: Card of Sanctity and Pot of Greed.

Yugi and Tea are gaping. 'How twisted can you be?' the boy rhetorically asks.

'Come on, Yug, let's take five,' Rebecca pleads, with a sultry expression, throwing her panties away. This time Marik makes her talk in her normal, girlie voice. 'I can force that female body to do with you whatever you want! Even... (winking)... you know... bow chicka wow wow! Then we will continue the duel as if nothing happened!'

'IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON YOU, ASSHOLE,' Tea screams.

'You are a poor excuse for a human being, Marik,' Yugi closes his eyes and shakes his head negatively in disappointment.

'Oh, okay, if you don't want to,' Rebecca shrugs, feigning indifference. The job is done anyway. She swapped her two useless, vanilla monsters with the two spell cards that will allow her to replenish her hand. And those two fools didn't notice a thing! 'Anyway, let's resume the duel. Where were we? Oh, yeah, right, it is my turn. So, as I was saying, I play this spell card: Card of Sanctity.'

She places on the board the aforementioned card. It shows two knights in a rain of golden coins. They're trying to catch as many of them as they can. 'Now we both draw until we have 6 cards in our hands,' she unnecessarily explains.

With the same contemptuous look in his eyes, Yugi draws. So does Rebecca. Both players now have 6 cards in their hand.

'Next, I play the Pot of Greed,' Rebecca carries on, in a distorted voice. And, in her normal, girlie voice, she adds, 'Yaay, two more cards for me.'

She grins. Perfect! Now she has 7 cards in her hand. Time for the combo of victory.

'I play the Judgement Blaster,' she cries and places on the board a spell card depicting a commando or something. He is tanned, naked from the waist up and he is carrying behind his back a missile with a chain tied around it. 'I discard 5 cards from my hand. Next, all monsters on the field are destroyed!'

The aforementioned missile appears on Rebecca's field and is fired at Yugi's field, destroying the Demonic Monarch. The boy's eyes widen. His most powerful monster, at least in terms of raw ATK power, was destroyed just like that!

'Lastly, I play the last card in my hand. Shadow Ghoul (1600/1300) in attack mode.'

A tall, green, faceless creature appears on the field. It has red spots, sharp claws and limbs that make it look like a mutant insect that jumped out of some horror movie.

Yugi raises an eyebrow. 1600 ATK? It has to have some additional effect. I mean, Rebecca's tone of voice indicates that this is her trump card.

'This monster gains 100 ATK points for each monster in my graveyard,' Rebecca explains.

Yugi is mildly worried to hear that, until he realizes how many monsters his opponent has sent to her graveyard over the duel. Then his mild worry turns into fright. 11 monsters!

The boy's eyes widen as the Shadow Ghoul's ATK points skyrocket to 2700.

'Your turn, Yugi,' Rebecca cries triumphantly.

The boy gulps. What is he to do? He just lost his best monster. And, since it was a ritual monster, he cannot bring it back from the graveyard, even if he draws Monster Reborn.

'I- I play the Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode,' Yugi stutters.

The well known stone golem appears on the field and kneels down into a defensive position.

'Hang in there, Yugi,' Tea tries to encourage him in every way she can.

Rebecca draws a card. She looks at it and smiles. Her eyes back to Yugi. 'First of all, SHADOW GHOUL, CRUMBLE THAT STONE.'

Her monster leans slightly forward and breaths green gas which engulfs Yugi's wall monster, annihilating it.

'And if you think that you can stall for like a bazillion turns by playing monsters in defense mode, this will put an end to your hopes,' Rebecca adds, about to play her next card. 'I play a second Cannon Soldier, in defense mode.'

The aforementioned monster appears on the field and kneels down into a defensive position.

Yugi gasps. He looks at his hand. He has the Dark Magician, two spell cards that cannot help him under the current circumstances (Polymerization and Shift) and three weak, vanilla monsters. Now what? If he plays a monster in defense mode, on her next turn, Rebecca will play one more monster and sacrifice it along with the Shadow Ghoul to activate the Cannon Soldier's effect twice, thus decreasing Yugi's life points to zero. If he plays the Dark Magician in attack mode in order to destroy the Cannon Soldier, the Shadow Ghoul will destroy the Dark Magician on the next turn. And if Yugi loses his trusted magician now, he practically stands no chance.

'Your turn, Yugi,' the possessed girl points at him.

Yugi looks at his deck. His last hope is that, on this turn, he will draw a card that will enable the Dark Magician to overpower the Shadow Ghoul.

'Heart of the Cards, guide me,' the boy inwardly says as he is slowly moving his hand towards the deck.

* * *

Yami Mokuba is standing on a mezzanine. He places a hand on the railing and looks down below. Yugi is dueling with a girl that looks around the same age as the body the spirit of the Millenium Ring is currently possessing. So that girl is the possessed person that is trying to take the Millenium Puzzle. But why is she naked from the waist up? Oh, who cares? Time to release that female mortal from the control of whomever is possessing her. Not because Yami Mokuba feels sorry for the girl of course, but rather because this is in his best interest.

The boy takes hold of his Millenium Ring, which glows. 'Millenium Ring, sever the connection between that mortal and the Millenium Item wielder that is controlling her,' he inwardly says.

* * *

Yugi draws. He looks at his card. The Soul Release! The boy smiles. Perfect. This card can end this duel.

However, before he can play it, something unexpected happens. Rebecca's eyes glow momentarily with a dim, golden light. Next, her expression completely changes. It becomes childlike, shocked. Her eyes widen.

'Wha... where am I?' the girl shrieks, looking around. 'What am I doing here?'

Tea and Yugi are staring at her with uncertainty. Is this one of Marik's sickening jokes? No, both Yugi and Tea can tell that, this time, the girl's behaviour is genuine.

Rebecca notices Yugi. 'Hey, you are Yugi Muto,' she cries. 'What are we doing here?'

She looks at her naked upper body. 'Where is my jacket?' she cries. And, the next moment, feeling a rush of cold air under her skirt, she places a hand on her genitalia and realizes in horror that her underpants are gone too. 'Wha... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, PERVERT?'

'Rebecca, calm down,' Yugi extends his arms forward. 'I can explain.'

'NO, STAY AWAY FROM ME,' the girl steps back, only to fall off the arena and end up on the floor, accidentally dragging the Millenium Puzzle along.

* * *

In his dark room, Marik is watching what is happening through the Millenium Rod. Why has his control over the girl worn off all of a sudden? Is someone trying to release her? Marik realizes that he can feel signals emitted from another Millenium Item somewhere near the arena where Rebecca and Yugi have been dueling.

The blond man takes an irritated expression. So another Millenium Item wielder is trying to beat him into taking the Millenium Puzzle? No way he will allow this to happen.

'Only I deserve that power,' Marik cries angrily, causing his Millenium Rod to glow.

* * *

Rebecca is standing up, rubbing her naked butt under her skirt.

Tea and Yugi are trying to approach her. 'Rebecca, please, let us help you...'

'NO, STAY AWAY,' the girl screams, causing them to halt abruptly.

'Stop disobeying your master, Rebecca,' a voice is heard in her head. 'The duel is not over yet. I want the puzzle.'

The girl clutches her temples, closes her eyes and screams. 'GET OUT OF MY HEAD!'

'Shut up and duel, you little slut,' Marik yells.

Right now, a ferocious battle is raging in the poor girl's head, a battle of willpower between two minds, two Machiavellian entities who both want the Millenium Puzzle all to themselves: Marik, who is trying to regain control of that body, and Yami Mokuba, who is trying to free her.

Yugi and Tea are just watching, dumbfounded, helpless.

'SHOW YOURSELF,' Rebecca screams, looking around, addressing Marik. In a frenzy, she picks up the Millenium Puzzle and starts frantically flailing it around, trying to hit the invisible enemy.

'Rebecca, stop it,' Yugi tries to reach for his artifact.

The girl accidentally slams it against the duel arena. The puzzle shatters.

'NO!' Yugi cries, his eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Rebecca tries to run out of the building, but, in her current state, she cannot even watch where she is going; alas, she accidentally bumps her head on a pillar and falls unconscious.

* * *

In the dark room, Marik is so angry that he turns over his desk! He has to quit... for the time being. Evidently, whoever or whatever interfrered with his plan today is after the Millenium Items too. This will be more difficult than he thought.

* * *

Yami Mokuba, who has somehow descended from the mezzanine, is hidden behind a container. Darn, he may have prevented that other person from stealing the Millenium Puzzle, but he won't be able to steal it either today after all. But he can at least do this: He picks up one of the pieces and, before anyone can see him, transfers a small part of his soul in it.

Heh! Now, even on the off chance that Yugi ever manages to collect all seven Millenium Items and opens the Dark Door, the spirit of the Millenium Ring will go wherever Yugi goes from there.

Yami Mokuba puts the puzzle piece down and flees.

* * *

'Tea, take the girl outside,' Yugi asks with a serious expression. 'In the meantime, I'll rebuild the Millenium Puzzle.'

'Okay,' Tea nods and carries the unconscious Rebecca outside, bridal style.

As the kneeling boy is fitting the pieces of the Millenium Puzzle back together, he wonders whether Rebecca will be okay. He shudders to imagine how great a shock all this is for a 12 year old girl. What if she never recovers? What if she ends up demented for life? Oh, God, what are they supposed to tell her grandfather?


	20. Dungeon Dice Monsters

At Duke Devlin's store, the celebration is going on. Right now, at the shop's arena, Duke and Mai are standing across from each other. The charming lad is lazily playing with his hair and looking at his opponent with a laid back smile. Mai has her arms crossed and a determined expression.

'Go, Duke,' the female 'fan base' cry excitedly on the mezzanine.

It is not a duel monsters arena, mind you!

'And now, ladies and gentlemen,' Pegasus speaks, holding a microphone, serving as a referee during this special event, 'we shall give you a sample of the new game that is released today by our company. And what better way to do this than with an actual match? Mai Valentine, the duel monsters champion, shall face Duke Devlin, the creator of the new game, in a dungeon dice monsters battle!'

The audience cheers.

'You may be good at duel monsters, lady, but let me see how you will fare by my houserules,' Duke provokes her.

'I can win at any game,' Mai cries haughtily, pointing at her opponent. 'And I shall crash you, kiddo.'

This causes some Mai fans among the audience to cheer.

'I can win at any game,' an annoyed Joey does an impression of Mai.

That moment, Tristan's cellphone rings. It's Tea. With an eyebrow raised, the brown haired boy reads the message. He takes a slightly concerned expression.

'Umm, Joey, Tea sent me a message,' he taps his blond friend on the shoulder. 'She says it's an emergency.'

Joey turns his head. 'Did she say what is going on?' he asks.

'No,' Tristan shrugs.

'Probably her kitten is stuck on a tree branch again,' Joey sighs. 'Go and save it yourself this time. I want to stay here to see how much more conceited that woman can get.'

Tristan represses a chuckle. Next, with his concerned expression returning to his face, he pushes aside some audience members (apologizing to them while he is at it) and runs out of the store.

* * *

Rebecca is in Yugi's room, on his bed; there is no guest room in the small apartment where Yugi and his grandfather reside above their game store. The girl is squirming, mumbling and sweating in her sleep. A worried Yugi is holding her hand, trying to calm her down. Tea is just standing and looking at them, shuffling her feet, with her arms behind her back.

Thankfully, Yugi and Tea found the girl's cellphone in her skirt's pocket. Her grandpa's number was stored on the contacts, so, after they explained to Yugi's grandpa what had happened, they called Arthur.

Speaking of which, Arthur storms in the room, followed by Solomon. 'Rebecca!' he cries and runs over to his granddaughter. He's wearing a beige set of old fashioned clothes, a white shirt underneath and a red bowtie.

'Umm, Yugi, this is my old friend, Arthur Hawkins,' Solomon awkwardly gestures to the archaeologist. 'I have talked to you about him many times. Remember?'

'Of course I remember,' Yugi rolls his eyes. Then he turns to the other old man. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Hawkins,' he closes his eyes, places his hand on the chest and bows in a Japanese fashion. 'In fact, I have wanted to meet you since I was a child, though I hoped it would happen under better circumstances.'

'You can call me Arthur,' the man replies, crouching and holding his granddaughter's hand, with his eyes on her and a worried expression on his face. 'What happened?'

Yugi tells him the whole story, leaving out certain details, such as the part where he and Rebecca made out! He guesses this isn't a good time to tell him that he kissed his granddaughter without her consent! And although Yugi didn't know yet back then that Rebecca was under Marik's control and therefore in no position to give her consent, he would still have a hard time explaining to Arthur why he was kissing a 12 year old girl in the first place!

* * *

The first official dungeon dice monsters battle in history is about to begin. There are three hearts emitting flickering lights on each player's podium; those hearts are the equivalent of life points. A bin opens next to Mai, holding countless dice in multiple colors and with a variety of symbols on them. The woman gasps in confusion.

'This is the dice pool,' Duke explains. 'Select 15 dice to use in the game.' And, casually coiling his hair around his finger, with a meaningful smile, he adds, 'I'd give you some advice as to what dice to choose, but I guess that a self proclaimed game master like you will have no problem figuring this out herself.'

The audience laughs.

Mumbling curses, Mai picks her dice at random while Duke carefully selects his.

* * *

Seto is working in his lab. Alone. He is developing the next generation duel disk. He started developing this long ago, before the Duelist Kingdom tournament began (the duel disk he used to duel Yugi on Pegasuses island was an imperfect prototype). He planned to resume his efforts when he returned from that island.

Even though Mokuba cutting him out of his life devastated him, even though Kaiba no longer cares about anything, he is still working on that model. He is determined not to stop before it is perfected. He feels the inner need to do so. He feels the need to complete this project. Because this accomplishment will be his swansong, his last achievement before he... let's not think about it for now.

As Kaiba is working at his desk in his personal lab, with spectacles protecting his face from sparks, with stuff such as screws, screwdrivers, logic gates, ram chips and motherboards all over the place, memories of his life with Mokuba are flashing through his mind, like a movie in fast forward mode.

He remembers a blurry scene of himself sitting on the floor, in a cosy living room, next to a fireplace, and playing with a toy train, while his mother (yes, his real mother) is sitting in a rocking chair, cradling Mokuba, who is still a baby.

Although Seto was 9 when his parents died (in other words, not too young to have clear memories of them), he barely remembers them. In fact, he barely remembers anything of his life before the day his brother and he were sent to that cursed orphanage. That day, Kaiba forced himself to prematurely grow up; he felt that, from now on, he had to be not just a big brother to Mokuba but also a father and a mother at the same time. Eventually, he stopped smiling. He became stern and bitter. It was as if his old self, that cheerful child he used to be, had died and another person had been born in his place: an arrogant, ambitious, at times cruel and ruthless, survivor. And, along with his old self, along with that playful child, almost all the memories that child had of his life, of his parents, of his carefree childhood, had died as well. Even the faces of his parents as he remembers them, he is not sure whether they are their real faces or just a visual attempt of his subconscious to prevent him from believing that he never had any parents to begin with, that he's not an organic being but rather a robot or something. The only thing left of that child in the current Seto was his love of games!

Nevertheless, Seto and Mokuba did not have to stay long at that orphanage. The opportunity arose the day Gozaburo Kaiba visited that so called institution. And Seto had all the abilities needed to exploit that opportunity: The intelligence to be aware of the opportunity in the first place, the insight to realize what kind of person Gozaburo, that multibillionaire portrayed by the media as a benevolent philanthropist, really was, the manipulative skills to convince him to agree to a chess match.

But how did a child manage to defeat an undefeated until then super grandmaster? (Gozaburo had scored almost 3000 points in the Elo rating system!) Sure Seto was an exceptional player himself (by the standards of a child his age, that is). Sure he had studied Gozaburo's strategies. But still! Well, if you ask Seto, and if he answers truthfully, putting his arrogance aside, he will tell you that Gozaburo underestimated him. If they had played under different circumstances, say, in a championship game, with Gozaburo setting his mind to it, the older man would almost certainly have destroyed the boy. But that day, when Seto's unexpected challenge prolonged what the busy businessman had initially expected to be a short visit to that orphanage, Gozaburo was inwardly like, 'Let's just get it over with so that I can get back to work. After all, how tough can a little boy be?'

Despite his initial frustration of losing to Seto, Gozaburo soon saw the prospect of raising a worthy heir to his empire. And so, from the moment Seto and his brother set foot at their new home, Gozaburo forced the former into an accelerated education program. He trained him to turn him into a worthy ruler of KaibaCorp. He trained him well. Perhaps too well! For Seto turned into his stepfather's nemesis.

Seto went as far as to use his own brother as a pawn in his plans to overthrow Gozaburo, mentally hurting Mokuba in the process, albeit temporarily. All these years, Seto believed that Mokuba understood why he had treated him the way he did during that period. He believed that Mokuba acknowledged that Seto had done what he had done so that the two of them could have a better life afterward. He believed that Mokuba had forgiven him.

Is it possible that he hasn't forgiven him after all? Is it possible that Mokuba has been holding a grudge all these years? Is this why he told him he hates him? Does this hatred have nothing to do with what Mokuba went through on Pegasuses island after all?

In any case, Kaiba is sorry for failing Mokuba. He is going to apologize in the letter he will leave behind before he... well, as I said, let's not think about that before we perfect the duel disk prototype!

* * *

The first official dungeon dice monsters game in history is going on. Mai Valentine versus Duke Devlin. Duke Devlin versus Mai Valentine. Creator versus Champion (albeit the champion of a different game!)

Both players have managed to summon several creatures so far and expand their respective corridors, though Duke's corridor is visibly longer and more neatly structured than Mai's. Mai has lost one heart.

'Battle Ox, attack the Harpy Lady,' Duke commands one of his monsters.

With a terrifying bellow, the aforementioned anthropomorphic beast raises his axe, about to strike.

'I use one of my stored trap crests to activate the Harpy's effect,' Mai yells. 'Harpy, flap your wings to evade the attack.'

On her master's command, the Harpy ascends, with the oxes axe hitting thin air.

'And now, Harpy, counterattack,' Mai smiles.

The female monster slashes the Battle Ox with her claws, thus destroying it. The crowd cheers.

'Not bad, woman,' Duke chuckles nonchalantly. 'This is the first time you're playing this game, yet you have already learnt how to use advanced tactics.'

'I might have a chance after all,' Mai thinks, a bead of sweat trickling down her cheek.

* * *

Ishizu is watching Kaiba, through her Millenium Necklace, unbeknownst to him. And even though her Millenium Item has neither the capability of looking into people's minds (as the Millenium Eye) nor that of looking into people's souls (as the Millenium Ring), she can see the pain in his eyes. The pain of your own brother renouncing you. Ishizu, too, knows that feeling.

The girl removes her hands from her Millenium Item and sighs. In the future the Millenium Necklace predicted, at this point, she would convince Kaiba to organize the Battle City tournament in order to lure the Rare Hunters out of their hideout. However, as events transpired, as opposed to what her artifact had shown her, Kaiba is now in no condition to help her. She doubts that, even if she talked to him about the God Cards and gave him Obelisk the Tormentor, he would be motivated enough to overcome his current sorrow and combat the Rare Hunters by her side.

Perhaps, if she told him about the spirit of the Millenium Ring controlling his brother... no, most likely, he wouldn't believe her; Kaiba disregards that stuff as 'hocus pocus nonsense'. Then again, what does she have to lose? She has to at least try. You never know. Maybe, now that Kaiba has lapsed into depression, he will opt to believe, to embrace his ancient past, in order to give himself new hope, something to get him going.

Suddenly, the Millenium Necklace starts glowing. Ishizu lowers her eyes, alerted.

'Are you... are you saying that I must not tell him?' she addresses the artifact, with her beautiful eyes widened.

The item ceases glowing, as an affirmative response. Ishizu's eyes further widen. Is it possible that, for some reason, Gods do not want Kaiba to know yet that his brother is possessed?

Ishizu gulps. 'Then... then what am I to do?' she asks. 'Tell me.'

The item does not glow this time.

'TELL ME,' Ishizu demands, violently shaking the artifact.

Once again, no response.

Ishizu takes off her necklace and, with an angry cry, hurls it at the wall. With a loud, clinking sound, the item hits against the hard surface and ends up on the floor.

'YOU USELESS PIECE OF JUNK,' the woman screams.

Her eyes get wet. For a while, she sobs, rubbing them.

Finally, she stands up, walks over to the fallen item and picks it up. 'I'm sorry,' she says softly amid her sobs, caressing the golden artifact as if she was a mother cradling her baby.

She knows that what she just did was a sacrilegious act. In Ancient Egypt, she could have been executed just for that!

Ishizu produces the God Card in her possession, Obelisk the Tormentor. A navy blue colored card depicting a golem whose spiked body is a lighter blue color. Even though his eyes indicate he never shows any mercy, Ishizu knows how merciful and benevolent Gods are. She respectfully leans the card against the backrest of a chair. Next, she kneels before it and assumes an Ancient Egyptian praying stance. (In case you don't know, the Ancient Egyptian praying stance looks like the muslim one: The prayer is on all fours, with their forehead touching the ground.) And so, she begins praying before the card, as Christians do before images of Jesus or Holy Mary or Saints.

'God, please, forgive my sin,' she whispers. 'I'm only human. My emotions took the best of me. I deeply regret it.'

Ishizu stays in the same praying position, silent, for a while. Finally, without moving nonetheless, she speaks again, 'I feel so lost, God. Please give me a sign. Something. Anything.'

Ishizu has never attempted to make a decision on her own before. All her life, she believed that fate controls everything and that future is predestined. Everything she would do or say depended on what her Millenium Necklace showed her.

And yet, now here the future is, having changed! And Ishizu still cannot explain how that happened.

The woman finally opens her eyes, sighs, sits up and takes the card in her hand. She looks at the imposing creature drawn on it. What if... what if the future hasn't actually changed? It sounds crazy, but... can that false future the Millenium Necklace showed her be Gods' way of telling her that there is no such thing as determinism? That she has grown too dependent on her gift of being able to predict the future to a limited extent? That Gods want her to start making her own decisions, taking initiatives and grow into her own person?

All the above make Ishizu feel so afraid. But she knows she has to do it. She has to cut the cord to the magic of the Millenium Items and resolve her problems by herself. So, what is she supposed to do from now on? Let's calm down and think rationally. In the supposed future, Pegasus lapsed into despair after his loss to Yugi at the Duelist Kingdom, whereas Kaiba was full of drive, so Ishizu asked for Kaiba's help. In the real future, things are actually the other way around: Kaiba is the one who has given up on life whereas Pegasuses spirits are high as never before. So should she ask for Pegasues help?

* * *

'Aaaannndd, it's official, ladies and gentlemen. The first official dungeon dice monsters game is officially over. Also, I have a rich vocabulary!'

The spectators burst into laughter. Pegasus is a talented entertainer indeed!

As for the match, predictably, Duke won.

Having left their earlier banter behind, the two players smile and shake hands as the crowd cheers.

'Congratulations, Duke,' Mai says. 'Well played.'

'Well, you didn't fare badly either, considering that, less than one hour ago, you didn't even know the rules,' Duke comments. 'You even managed to take out one of my heart points!'

'Next time, we're playing duel monsters and I'll crush you,' Mai winks.

'I'd like to see you try,' Duke winks back.

The audience laughs again.

Pegasus approaches them. He wraps his arms around Mai. 'If that means anything to you, you are a winner in my heart,' he says.

'Thanks,' Mai replies and the two lovers kiss on the lips, causing some people among the audience (especially female ones) to go like, 'Awww' and Joey to snort.


	21. You Are My Prince

Rebecca keeps mumbling, sweating and squirming in her sleep. Yugi is holding her hand, tightly, a worried expression on his face. The two grandpas have gone to the kitchen to prepare a compress for the bloody spot on the girl's forehead. They have also called an ambulance.

Tea is just watching. She, too, has a sad expression on her face, which Yugi interprets as worry about Rebecca. However, Tea is sad for a totally different reason. The way Yugi is holding Rebecca's hand. The way he cannot take his worried eyes off her. The way he is sweetly whispering stuff to the blonde girl. It is so obvious!

Yugi is not just worried about this girl the way he would be if anyone else had a similar accident. No! Tea can see it. Even if Yugi himself has not realized it yet, Tea can see it. It took the brunette so long to figure out her feelings for her childhood friend. And now that, after all these years, she finally knows how she feels, it is too late. Yugi's heart is elsewhere!

Tea knows it is terribly selfish and cruel to feel that way at a time like this, with everybody else concerned about the younger girl's health. She knows she is a terrible person. But she cannot help it.

'It is too late,' Tea whispers, sobbing and wiping a tear.

Yugi turns to the taller girl and gives her a confused look. 'Did you just say something, Tea?' he asks.

'No, nothing important,' the girl answers amid her sobs with a dismissive gesture.

'Don't cry, Tea. I'm sure Rebecca will be fine,' Yugi tries to console his female friend, having no idea about the real reason she's crying.

'Thanks, Yugi. You're so kind,' Tea runs out of the room, not wanting her friend to see her like that anymore.

Meanwhile, Rebecca is being tormented by a nightmare. Memories of the recent past blended with fantasies form a dream.

* * *

_The airplane Rebecca and her grandfather were on has landed at the Domino City airport. The precocious girl is excitedly running around, her long, loose hair waving gracefully._

_'Wow, this is so different from an American airport,' she comments._

_'Stay close to me, Rebecca,' her elderly guardian runs behind her, slightly worried. 'Or else you might wind up lost.'_

_'I want to pee,' Rebecca complains, tapping her feet alternately in impatience, trying to hold the urine in her bladder._

_Arthur sighs and looks around. He spots a restroom. 'Fine, go there,' he points at the door. 'I'll be waiting for you here.'_

_'Okay, gramps,' Rebecca quickly pecks him on the cheek and then hurriedly runs over to the restroom._

* * *

_In the airport restroom, Rebecca exits the cubicle she has been occupying. 'Ahh, that was a good wazz,' she comments, patting her crotch, with her eyes closed and a smile of relief, even though there is no one here to hear her._

_Or is there?_

_The girl suddenly realizes that a group of men are exiting the other cubicles. They all are dressed in black, hooded cloaks that cover them entirely. Have they been hiding here, waiting for her?_

_'What the...' Rebecca gasps, but since, for all her precociousness and Mai's influence over her, the 12 year old girl doesn't know many expletives yet, she stops, unable to find a word to finish that sentence with._

_The men are blocking the exit. Rebecca gulps. What do these freaks want from her? Are they going to kidnap her? She has heard several stories about kids her age or younger who disappeared under similar circumstances, never to be seen again. Will she... (gulp)... will she become one of those kids? Will she never see her grandfather again?_

_'Who are you? Leave me alone,' she yells, unsuccessfully trying to conceal her fear and hold back a tear._

_One of the aforementioned men takes a step forward and removes his hood, thus revealing his face. Rebecca doesn't know him, but we do! Marik!_

_How did he know he would find her here? And, moreover, how did he know she has come here for Yugi? Well, truth be told, it was a combination of the exceptional organization of the Rare Hunters' worldwide web and immense luck. One of the Rare Hunters' executives, who had been assigned the task of online spying on famous duelists all over the world, managed to hack Rebecca's email account and read a message she had sent to a girlfriend of hers, saying she was going to meet Yugi and challenge him to a duel._

_Marik extends his arm, with the Millenium Rod glowing._

_'What is this thing?' the girl cries._

_'Do not fear, Rebecca,' Marik says, with a fake smile of compassion. 'We shall not kidnap you. You will go back to your grandfather and act the way you normally do, until I give you further orders.'_

_True, Marik doesn't have to actively control a person 24/7. The Millenium Rod can, so to speak, go into autopilot mode, during which the controlled person resumes their everyday activities, so that their loved ones will not suspect anything, though the controlled person is still not aware of doing any of those things, since their consciousness remains buried even when the rod is in autopilot mode._

_'Wha... what do you mean by further or...'_

_Rebecca never managed to finish the sentence above. Her concsciousness is buried deep in her subconscious. This glowing, golden artifact is her last clear memory._

_Then... darkness and unconsciousness. With occasional flashes of cloudy consciousness. Blurry images. Fuzzy sensations._

_Wait, is she being kissed? And is that boy kissing her... Yugi? And... and... oh, God, what is this newfound, pleasant sensation? Rebecca had never imagined that making out with a boy feels so good. Suddenly, Yugi transforms into an unidentified, charming prince. But Rebecca keeps making out with him all the same._

_Then the dream is replaced by another._

* * *

_Rebecca is now six years old. She's wearing pink, fairyprincess themed pajamas. Her hair is tied in two neat pigtails. She is holding and caressing her teddy bear. She is lying in her bed, with her grandpa reading her a fairytale._

_'... and so, the evil queen died of jealousy, Snow White married the prince and they lived happily ever after,' Arthur finishes the story, kisses his granddaughter on the forehead and turns off the table lamp. 'Now go to sleep, my little angel.'_

_Rebecca closes her eyes, smiles and purrs, 'When I grow up, Teddy, I'll meet a prince too and marry him. And we will live together in a sugar palace. And I'll take you there with me, Teddy!'_

_Arthur chuckles as he exits the room, closing the door behind him._

_Once again, the dream (which was also one of her childhood memories) is replaced._

* * *

_Rebecca is once again her 12 year old self and making out with Yugi. She is taking off her upper garments. And it feels so good!_

_'This... is my prince,' a voice says inside Rebecca's head._

* * *

Back in reality, Rebecca slowly opens her eyes and smiles at Yugi. 'You are... my prince,' she says weakly.

'Rebecca!' the boy gasps. 'You are awake, at last. I have to call your grandfather.'

Yugi is about to stand up and walk out of the room, but Rebecca, despite having just awakened, musters the strength to tighten her grip on the boy's hand, thus stopping him. Yugi gives her a confused look.

'You kissed me,' Rebecca smiles.

Yugi's eyes bulge in terror. Oh, my God. She knows! Now she's gonna tell her grandfather. And Yugi will certainly be prosecuted for grooming. And he will end up in juvie, where the bullies are twice bigger and more aggressive than those who give him a hard time at school. And he... (gulp)... and he will be stigmatized for life. His grandpa will probably renounce him and kick him out of his apartment. Oh, my God, his dreams of a career as a duel monsters champion are ruined!

'Re... Rebecca,' the panicked boy stutters, trembling. 'Please, let me explain. I was...'

'No need to explain, my little princeling,' the girl interrupts him sweetly. 'Just kiss me again.'

However, Yugi keeps babbling. 'Rebecca, please, I know you're anrgy, but let me explain. I... WAIT, WHAT?'

Silence. Rebecca has an expression of felicity. Yugi's eyes are still widened. Is this girl serious?

'You are my first kiss,' the blonde insists. 'Therefore, you are my true love. You are the fairytale prince I have been waiting for all my life. Lean and kiss me, my love.'

OMG, she's serious! Yugi blushes. 'Umm, Rebecca,' he awkwardly strokes his nape, trying to break free of the girl's grasp. 'I think you are still dazed because you have been in a coma or something. Let's just... forget about that unfortunate incident. Okay?'

Yugi runs out of the room, leaving Rebecca purring in happiness. 'Yugi chan,' she whispers as she lapses back into slumber.

* * *

'Gentlemen, let our secret meeting begin,' Leichter unnecessarily announces.

Once more, the Big Five are discussing how to resolve their problems.

'So, has anybody found a way of getting rid of Kaiba?' Johnson asks, without much hope nonetheless.

'I have,' Leichter speaks again and stands up in order to draw his partners' attention to him. 'As you know, Kaiba took control of KaibaCorp five years ago, when, with our help, he formulated a plan to overthrow the former president, Gozaburo.'

'And then, when he took over, he sidelined us. Way to thank us, President Seto!' Crump remarks sarcastically.

Ignoring that comment, Leichter carries on, 'So, as you remember, Kaiba managed to take control of the company when his stepfather gave him 2% of the company's shares as a birthday present. Eventually, with our help and the money he made himself through morally questionable methods, he managed to gather 49% of the shares, knowing that, at the crucial moment, his brother would give him his own 2% of the shares.'

'Why are you telling us things that we already know, Leichter?' Nezbitt sighs boredly.

'Because I discovered the reason that Kaiba has been depressed lately,' the second in command in the company strikes the table with his palm. 'It seems that, for some reason, his brother has decided to cut him out of his life.'

The other four executives gasp. A short silence follows.

'So, if I got it right,' Gansley breaks the silence, 'you suggest that we near Mokuba so that he gives his 2% of the shares to us.'

'Precisely, Gansley,' Leichter nods with a smile. 'Seto himself has 49% of the shares. It is the certainty that his brother will always vote in his favor that has enabled his decisions to outvote those of the other stockholders in meetings and elections of board members so far. So, now that Mister Mokuba, for whatever reason, has renounced his brother, if we approach the young boy and convince him to vote in our favor from now on and if, in the meantime, we manage to buy 49% of the company shares, we will totally dominate KaibaCorp.'

'It sounds an awesome idea, Leichter,' Johnson sighs. 'Except that not even all five of us together are rich enough to buy 49% of the shares, even taking into account the recent decrease in the company's stock value due to the president's indifference.'

'We will, thanks to someone who will help us,' Leichter insists.

'Who?' Crump asks, although Leichter was about to tell them anyway.

'A really powerful ally,' Leichter continues as he stands up and walks over to a curtain. 'The founder of a heresy. Someone with countless supporters around the world, many of whom are immensely rich. Someone with inconceivable power in the global underworld. Someone whose organization can hack its way into the databases of practically any bank or company.'

Leichter pulls the curtain. 'Gentlemen, say hello to the leader of the Rare Hunters.'

Marik takes a step forward and removes his hood. 'Hello, fellows,' he greets them with an ominous smile.


	22. Where Are We Going?

As Tristan approaches the Mutos' game store, he sees an ambulance parked outside, with its siren emitting a flickering light. Two doctors are carrying a blonde, preteen girl on a stretcher. Who is she? An old man is running behind them. From the worried expression on the aforementioned old man's face, Tristan deduces that he is a close relative of that girl. Yugi and his grandpa are standing outside the shop entrance, with compassionate expressions. Tea is there too. Is she... crying?

'Tea,' the brown haired boy calls out as he approaches. 'What hap...'

'It is too late, Tristan,' Tea bursts into sobs and falls into his arms.

With his eyes widened, Tristan gasps and pats her on the shoulder. 'There there,' he says, genuinely shocked. What does she mean by 'too late'? Is that girl (whatever her name is)... dead?

He turns his eyes to Yugi. 'Yugi, what happened?' he asks, slightly freaking out, with Tea still sobbing in his arms, oblivious.

'Long story,' the shorter boy sighs. 'Nevertheless, don't worry. That girl will most likely be fine after all.'

Tristan turns his eyes back to Tea. 'Did you hear that, girl? She will be fine. Stop being so worried, because you're freaking me out.'

'I know she will be fine, Tristan,' Tea sobs, her voice kinda muffled by her friend's chest. 'But still... IT'S TOO LATE! BOUHOUHOUOUOUOU...'

Tristan raises his eyes to the heavens and sighs, still patting his female friend. 'Women,' he whispers. 'I'll never understand them.'

* * *

After their initial surprise, the other four members of the Big Five stand up to greet their new ally.

'We were fortunate to find each other, Mister Ishtar,' Leichter smiles at him.

'No!' Marik smiles back. 'It was not luck. It was Gods. Gods brought us together.'

Silence. The Big Five sweatdrop in a Japanese gag manner. None of them replies to that comment. They prefer not to risk upsetting someone they need so much by disregarding his Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs as nonsense. Let that lunatic believe what he wants; it won't hurt them, as long as he helps them achieve their goal.

'Umm, so...' Leichter awkwardly breaks the silence. 'Tell our partners (gestures to the other four people in the room) what our plan is.'

'As of now, all money and resources of my organization are at your disposal, my dear friends,' Marik closes his eyes, places his hand on his chest and bows politely. 'We will track down stockholders of KaibaCorp and buy their shares. If they don't want to sell, we will force them by any means necessary: We will blackmail them, we will have my goons beat them up, we will kidnap loved ones of theirs. I even have in my ranks people really skilled at computers, people more than capable of hacking the stockholders' accounts.'

The Big Five exchange smiles.

Suddenly, Gansley raises an eyebrow, as if something has just occurred to him. 'Wait a minute. What do you seek to gain from this cooperation, Mister Ishtar?' he asks suspiciously.

Marik chuckles. To the shock of the five businesspeople, he produces a golden rod and strokes it, as if it was his beloved kitten. 'All I want is for you, when you have taken control of KaibaCorp, to organize a duel monsters tournament in Domino City. An event that will attract the best duelists from all over the world, like honey attracts bees.'

The Big Five exchange looks again, chuckle and shrug. Their eyes back to Marik. 'Agreed, Mister Ishtar,' Leichter speaks on behalf of all of them. 'We shall do you this favor.'

Marik lowers his eyes and smiles. He can always control with the Millenium Rod all five of those scumbags if needed. But, for the time being, they seem cooperative, so no need to bother.

* * *

Thankfully, Rebecca didn't have anything serious indeed. Just a mild concussion. Doctors said she will stay at the hospital for today, just for precautionary reasons, and then she will be discharged.

Outside the room Rebecca is currently in, Arthur is sleeping on a bench. He didn't want to fall asleep, he wanted to stay close to his granddaughter some more, but, after all that anxiety he has gone through today, now that he has finally been assured his grandchild will be fine, he couldn't combat his tiredness anymore. His old friend, Solomon, is sitting next to him. Tea and Tristan have gone to the hospital canteen to fetch some coffee.

At some point, a young, attractive nurse passes by. Solomon's eyes turn into gag hearts. He can't help groping a little! Because, as wise as he is, as kind as he is, he is still a perv, as most old men in Japanese shows!

'Umm, excuse me, ma'am, may I ask you something?' Solomon draws the aforementioned woman's attention, pretending that he meant to tap her on her back but he missed the target and accidentally touched her butt instead. Ohh, that feels good!

The nurse turns around and glares at him. 'YOU PERVERT,' she yells and, with an almost superhumanly strong slap, causes him to crash on the wall, creating a dent the shape and size of his body in it, in another gag scene.

'Worth it,' the old man whispers with a smile of felicity as he falls on the floor, with a thud and everybody around looking at him.

Arthur didn't wake up despite all the above. He must be really tired!

Meanwhile, in the room, Yugi and Rebecca are chatting, blissfully unaware of that incident. They seem to be getting along great. Rebecca is lying in the bed, with Yugi sitting next to her and holding her hand.

They are getting to know each other, better and better. They are talking about (what else?) cards! They are checking out each other's decks and advising each other as to what modifications to make (what cards to add, what cards to remove etc) in order to enhance their strategies. Little by little, they come to realize that they have much more than love of card games in common. For example, both of them lost their parents at a very young age. Both of them were raised by their respective grandfathers.

They are laughing together. They are having a good time. Until, at some point, Rebecca's face clouds over.

Yugi raises an eyebrow. 'What's wrong?'

'Yugi,' the girl sighs, looking him straight in the eye. 'About the things I said to you when I first woke up...'

'It's okay,' Yugi comforts her with a chuckle. 'I know you were still dazed.'

'Well, I was indeed,' Rebecca admits. 'Even so, I have a vague memory of that kiss and I like it!'

Yugi blushes and gulps anew.

'Please, don't freak out,' Rebecca takes his hands in hers to comfort him. 'I'm not some nutjob who dreams of marriage and kids just because of a kiss. I'm not some dangerous psychopath who is going to stalk you from now on. But I'd like us to... you know... go out together... sometime. I mean, if you want it too. If you don't want to, it's okay, I had a good time with you and...'

Yugi hushes the girl by placing his finger on her lips. 'I'd love it if we went out together,' he smiles.

Rebecca's eyes widen. 'Oh!' Next, her surprised expression is replaced with a childlike smile. 'Ok, then.'

Silence. Awkward silence. The two young people avert their eyes. They feign a sudden surge of heavy interest in looking around the room and examining the medical equipment. Eventually, their eyes accidentally meet again. They try to repress their giggles. Finally, they burst into laughter. Simultaneously! For no reason! They hug each other, now totally relaxed.

'I hope gramps and I will stay around for a little while,' Rebecca whispers.

'Likewise,' Yugi responds.

* * *

And so, a few days passed since that eventful day.

Pegasus is standing before a full length mirror, dressed in his usual, red outfit and adjusting his black bowtie. Helicopter sounds are coming from the roofdeck.

'Mister Pegasus, your personal helicopter is ready,' a servant announces.

'Good,' the tycoon responds without enthusiasm.

A half naked Mai, with a blanket wrapped around certain censored parts of her body, approaches and raises an eyebrow. 'Going somewhere, honey?' she asks.

'Yes,' Pegasus nods, still looking at his reflection. 'Ishizu Ishtar, an old partner of mine, wants to see me on my private island.'

Mai gives him a baffled look. 'And why couldn't that Ishizu chick meet you here?'

Pegasus turns around. 'Because, whenever a partner of mine wants to see me for something important, we meet on my private island. This is how I have always worked. So stop being paranoid. It's not like I'm going there to enjoy some secret sexual affair with her or anything.'

Mai's eyes widen. 'No, you misunderstood, I didn't imply that...'

'I know very well what you implied,' Pegasus gives her a stern look.

Mai sighs and lowers her eyes, inwardly admitting that she was jealous for a moment.

Next, she raises her eyes back to her lover. 'I'm sorry. I don't believe that you're that kind of man. Still though, I can't understand why you didn't inform me about that earlier. I mean, you can't just wake up in the morning and be like, _Oh, by the way, honey, I have to leave for a few days. Bye._ What am I to you? A mistress?'

Pegasus raises his eyes to the ceiling, his fingers crossing his long, white hair. What is he supposed to tell her? About the Millenium Items? About the evil that threatened to destroy the world 3000 years ago and now might surface again? About the three God Cards he created? That two of them have been stolen? That creating those three cards in the first place was the greatest mistake of his life? No, he can't talk to Mai about any of the above. Mai may be a great woman, but she's still a normal woman in the modern world. There are some things she can't understand, or at least she's not ready to understand yet.

His eyes back to Mai. 'Mai, listen. There are some things that I have been doing in a certain way for a long time now. And I shall not change those ways for your sake. If that upsets you, I am sorry, but I cannot do anything about that.'

'BUT, IF I WAS CECELIA, YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN ME WITH YOU!' Mai snaps.

Her eyes widen. She instantly regrets what she just said.

For a while, Pegasus does not respond. He is just looking at her, silently. Mai can see it in his eyes how much those words hurt him. Nevertheless, he remains a gentleman. Instead of following her into a screaming match, he just says, 'I'll be late unless I leave now. We'll further discuss this when I'm back.'

And, with those words, he exits the room.

Mai drops her body on a cushion. _We'll discuss this when I'm back._ This is what men say when they don't want to discuss something, not even in a million years. Mai knows a lot about men.

'Where are we going, Max?' the woman wonders out loud, staring at the ceiling, even though nobody is here to hear her.

* * *

Mokuba enters his brother's office. It's been a few hours since he last heard from the spirit of this damned artifact he's wearing underneath his clothes. Maybe even an immortal spirit with no physical needs wants to take a break every now and then! Maybe he can now at last spend some time with his big brother.

'Seto? Are you here?' the boy calls out.

Wait, what is that thing on the desk? Can it be... the prototype of the duel disk Seto has been working on?

In any case, next to it, there are some papers. Mokuba has a look at them and... gasps, his eyes bulging in frustration. They are cession documents. His brother gave him all his KaibaCorp shares! Also, there is a letter:

_Mokuba, _

_I want you to know that I'm deeply sorry for all times I treated you in ways you deemed cruel. I know I cannot go back in time and fix my mistakes, but I cannot bear to see the well deserved hatred of me in your eyes anymore. So I wish you a happy life. As of now, everything I possess, everything I have ever earned, be it through honest or dishonest methods, is yours. I kept for myself only an amount of money which I used to buy a retreat somewhere. Doesn't matter where. I will stay there to rediscover myself. Please, don't look for me._

_Love, Seto_

A moment of silence before the letter's contents sink in.

'SETO, NOOO,' the boy bursts into tears.

Then, all of a sudden, with a glow of the Millenium Ring underneath his clothes, the boy's expression changes, the energy emitted by the artifact evaporating his tears in an instant. Once more, the spirit of the Millenium Ring has taken control.

'MOTHERFUCKER! KAIBACORP IS MINE,' Yami Mokuba exclaims.


	23. Five Out!

Once more, the Big Five have assembled in a dark room to discuss the latest events. They all seem troubled.

Leichter forms a pyramid with his hands. 'Gentlemen, I think you all can understand that this unexpected upheaval renders our plans a lot more... complicated.'

'Are you referring to Mister Kaiba's decision to sign over his company shares to his younger brother and then disappear?' Crump asks.

The other three members of the Big Five sigh, annoyed at their short, chubby peer stating the obvious.

'In any case, now that Mister Mokuba Kaiba owns 51% of the shares, trying to track down the other, less powerful owners and blackmailing them into selling to us is of no use,' Gansley says.

'Who's stating the obvious now?' Crump thinks, annoyed, not being brave enough to speak this thought out loud, though.

'Let us try to look on the bright side of things,' Nezbitt suggests. 'At least now our target is a single person, close to us, rather than a lot of unknown people around the world.'

'And you think that makes our job easier, Nezbitt?' Johnson sighs. 'It is incomparably more difficult to blackmail a person as powerful as someone who owns 51% of one of the greatest, most influential corporations in the world. Take it from me, a gifted solicitor who knows countless dirty methods of winning a case in a court of law and has got Kaibacorp out of all kinds of legal trouble, especially during the reign of the now deceased Mister Gozaburo Kaiba.'

'Then we have to find another way of getting rid of Mister Mokuba Kaiba,' Nezbitt deduces. And, forgetting about formalities for a while, he carries on, 'Come on, fellows, think. He's just a child. How hard is it to trap and eliminate a brat? We have to come up with something.'

Leichter turns to Marik, who has been standing next to him all along, caressing his Millenium Rod. 'Mister Ishtar, we apologize for the inconvenience,' he says politely. 'We admit that Mister Kaiba ceding his property to his brother was something we hadn't anticipated, but I assure you we shall find a way of dealing with this issue as soon as possible.'

However, Marik doesn't seem concerned at all. Even though the Big Five haven't realized it, he is smiling, as if he's saying, 'It doesn't matter, gentlemen. Either way, in the end, I'll get what I want.'

* * *

Pegasus is sitting in a comfortable seat in the helicopter taking him to his private island, where, a few weeks ago, the eventful Duelist Kingdom tournament took place. This time, he's not going to that island to play mind games with potential victims. This time, he's going there for a totally different reason. To meet Ishizu!

Ishizu Ishtar! Pegasus believed he would never see her again after the last time they collaborated, in burying the God Cards into their eternal slumber, thus preventing any aspiring thief from ever getting their hands on them.

How come that woman suddenly remembered him after all those years? What does she want from him? Is it possible that the God Cards... No, Pegasus does not even want to think about it. If those cards fell into the wrong hands, it would be a disaster. Pegasus regrets making those cards in the first place!

Despite his worries about the matter above, Pegasus suddenly remembers Mai. He's still sad about the way they parted.

Then he remembers Cecelia! He takes out of his suit chest pocket the photo of her. He has been carrying that photo with him all the time ever since she died. He didn't quit that habit, even when he and Mai began getting more... intimate with each other. Of course, he never told Mai that he's still carrying this photo around! He's afraid that his current lover would misunderstand this need of his. Then again, would this really be a misunderstanding? Would it be really unreasonable of Mai if she got mad at that?

Pegasus looks at the photograph. A tear rolls out of his eye. (His natural eye, that is; not the millenium one!) 'Oh, Cecelia,' he whispers. 'I'd like to know how you feel about all that... all those things that have happened in my life recently.'

Of course, the photo does not respond.

Pegasus sighs, tormented by uncertainty. Is Cecelia mad? Is she happy? Maximillion so wishes he knew!

When his first lover passed away, he swore that he would never let any other woman touch him, that he would remain true to her for as long as he lived. He swore it out loud countless times the day of her funeral, when he was standing above the open coffin.

'Oh, Cecelia, will you ever be able to forgive me?' Pegasus talks to the picture of the woman again. 'Believe me, my love, I really wanted to stay true to you till the day we reunited, either in the afterlife or in case I managed to resurrect you. But this life is so long. It turned out to be so hard... and tormenting to make the journey in this world all alone. And... (hesitation)... and I love Mai. In a different way from the way I love you. She cannot replace you in my heart, just as you cannot replace her.'

* * *

Mokuba is sitting at his office. The office that used to belong to his older brother. A 12 year old kid that has suddenly found himself one of the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet! Any other boy his age would jump for joy in his shoes. Yet Mokuba cannot feel an ounce of happiness. Without Seto, nothing matters in this world.

Mokuba was only 5 years old when their parents died. He has practically no memories of them. For as long as he can remember, Seto has been to him his brother, his father and his mother at the same time.

The boy takes out a photo of his brother and looks at it. It's a photo taken years ago. It depicts Seto as well as himself playing in a sandpit, at the orphanage they stayed before Gozaburo adopted them. They're building a sand castle. Seto is looking at the camera and smiling.

Who took that photo? Mokuba does not remember. Nor does he care. What he cares about is that, back then, as opposed to nowadays, Seto would still smile from time to time.

'Oh, Seto,' the boy whispers and caresses the photo. He recalls Kaiba telling him (that day) that, someday, they would escape their miserable life at the orphanage and be very rich and live at a mansion, happily. And, as it turned out, his big brother was almost right after all. Almost! True, they escaped the orphanage. True, they became immensely rich, way more than they needed. But he was wrong about the 'happily' part; for the Kaiba brothers have never been happy since the day Gozaburo adopted them.

Sometimes, Mokuba wonders whether it would have been better if Gozaburo had never visited their orphanage that cursed day. If they had never been adopted. If they had never become rich. If they had never entered the high society world, a world full of enemies, cruelty and backstabbing. A world that took away from Seto his insouciance, forcing him to be alert 24/7, to constantly live in fear of losing his power. A world that brought to their lives Pegasus and the Millenium Items, those demonic, Ancient Egyptian artifacts that became the reason that Seto is now gone forever.

Mokuba sobs. If he could go back in time, he would change only one thing: He would do everything he could to prevent Seto from challenging Gozaburo to that stupid chess match that day. Mokuba so wishes he could go back in time and do that.

A sound interrupts the boy's thoughts. It's the sound of the door slowly opening.

Mokuba's eyes widen. 'Seto?' he whispers, full of innocent, childlike hope.

No, it's not Seto. It's the Big Five!

Leichter takes a step forward, in order to speak on behalf of all five of them. He closes his eyes, places his palm on the chest and bows. 'Mister Kaiba, our sincere condolences for your brother's disappearance.'

Correcting his glasses, Johnson carries on in his peer's place, 'We want you to know that we all are deeply sorry for your loss. It's a loss to everybody in Kaibacorp. However, as sorrowful as we all feel, we have to keep running the company.'

Gansley continues, 'Which is why, as the new president, you have to come with us and test the new game your brother developed shortly before the Duelist Kingdom events.'

Mokuba stands up. The last thing he cares about right now is the company's affairs. He's about to tell all five of them to scram, when the golden ring underneath his clothes momentarily glows. The next moment, the boy's expression has totally changed!

'Take me there,' Yami Mokuba says, with a malicious smile.

The Big Five look at one another and exchange brief, meaningful smiles. This was easier than they thought after all!

'Follow us, Mister Kaiba,' Leichter beckons to the boy.

The Big Five walk along the corridor leading to the elevator, with their steps resonating.

Yami Mokuba walks behind the Big Five, with his hands in his pockets. He represses a chuckle. He knows those five scumbags are up to no good. Thanks to his Millenium Item, he knows. Though he does not know exactly what they are planning; the Millenium Ring cannot read people's minds as Pegasuses Millenium Eye. Instead, it can see inside people's hearts. And Yami Mokuba can see that the hearts of those five people are rotten to the core. The spirit of the Millenium Ring can almost smell the stink coming from their souls! Therefore, he knows that, whatever they're up to, it is something not good at all.

Poor mortals! Little do they know that they cannot hurt him. Little do they know that what is walking behind them right now and looking like a normal boy is actually an avatar of Zorc Necrophades, the manifestation of primal darkness. How can five mortals destroy darkness itself? Fools! Little do they know about what's coming to them. Yami Mokuba would almost feel sorry for them if he had feelings!

* * *

The Big Five enter the testing chamber, along with what they believe to be a normal boy from the modern world.

'Sit, Mister Kaiba,' Johnson gestures to the pod, with a fake smile of politeness, his glasses shining menacingly for a moment.

The boy sits in the pod and the lid closes.

Crump pulls the lever.

* * *

Mokuba finds himself in a forest. He looks around, confused. What happened?

The last thing he remembers is sitting in his brother's office.

What is this place? How did he end up here?

Suddenly, a huge, twin headed dragon emerges from the trees' foliage.

The boy screams in fright, but his screams are drowned by the dragon's roar.

The beast takes aim and breaths fire.

'SETO!' Mokuba desperately screams as his holographic body is engulfed in flames.

* * *

In the real world, Mokuba's head falls out of the helmet.

'It's over, gentlemen,' Leichter declares with a triumphant smile. 'Mister Mokuba Kaiba shall not bother us anymore. In his office, we will find all documents we need to take possession of KaibaCorp. With both Kaiba brothers out of the picture, the company is ours!'

The Big Five raise their respective fists and cheer simultaneously. For a while, the chamber is flooded by their creepy laughter.

Suddenly, Gansley gets serious. He draws the attention of his four peers. 'Come to think of it, we did not need the help of Mister Ishtar after all. And he knows too much! What are we to do with him?'

'Don't worry, Gansley,' Leichter comforts him. 'I'm one step ahead of you!'

On cue, Marik steps out of a shadow in a dark corner of the chamber. 'So, gentlemen, it seems we have succeeded,' he declares, stroking his Millenium Rod.

'Yes, we have,' Leichter smiles meaningfully. The next moment, he pulls a gun!

'Are you going to kill me?' Marik chuckles, not scared at all.

'Precisely,' Leichter gives him a creepy smile. 'Good thing you're just a nutjob with no family. Nobody will ever search for you. It will be easy to get rid of your corpse. So, any last words, hoody?'

Before Marik can respond or react in any other way, a voice is heard: 'You never asked me whether I had any last words to say. How rude of you!'

The Big Five gasp and turn around. Mokuba! And he's now wearing a mysterious, golden artifact!

Leichter is so shocked that he accidentally drops his gun. 'C-can't be,' he yells. 'You were supposed to have been trapped in the virtual world forever.'

'True. Mokuba is trapped in the virtual world forever indeed,' Yami Mokuba smiles. 'But I'm not him. And now, before I send you into oblivion, I want to thank you for ridding me of the annoying soul that originally resided this body. Now go to Hell!'

The boy places his hands on the ring, which glows once more. The next moment, all five businessmen drop unconscious.

'Enjoy your eternal stay in the Shadow Realm!' Yami Mokuba cries and laughs like a madman.

Eventually, he remembers the other man in the chamber, the one that has a Millenium Item.

Marik and Yami Mokuba exchange suspicious looks.

'Who are you?' Marik asks.

'I could ask you the same thing,' Yami Mokuba replies.


	24. Two Machiavellian Minds

Pegasuses castle. In the special hall where he receives important guests, the owner of the island is sitting at a long table, with his arms and legs crossed and a serious expression on his face.

Ishizu enters the chamber. Her steps majestically resonate across the hall as she approaches.

'Ishizu Ishtar,' Pegasus says, with his arms and legs still crossed.

'Maximillion Pegasus,' Ishizu responds, with an expression as solemn as that of her host. She sits at the table, across from the powerful man.

Silence. A silence more grim than awkward. The two people exchange serious looks.

The host is the one who finally breaks the aforementioned silence. 'I admit I didn't expect I would see you ever again.'

'I wish there had been no need for us to meet ever again,' Ishizu replies. 'It is not that I cannot bear your presence, do not get me wrong, my kind host. It is merely that if we had never needed to meet again, it would mean that everything was going well, everything was going as the Millenium Necklace had predicted.'

Pegasus eyes his female guest. 'So, what you are trying to say is that something unexpected has happened?' he deduces.

Ishizu lets out a sigh, which, as sad as it is, is cute and girlie nonetheless. 'Precisely,' she answers.

* * *

Marik and Yami Mokuba are eyeing each other. Like two carnivores that have come across each other in savannah. With each of those two carnivores having marked this area as its own hunting area and treating the other carnivore as a trespasser.

Suddenly, both of them remember their respective Millenium Items; the two golden artifacts have begun glowing, each of them reacting to the presence of the other.

Instinctively, both Millenium Item owners lower their eyes to their respective artifacts for a moment. Then, their eyes back to each other.

The spirit of the Millenium Ring is the one who finally breaks the silence. 'So,' the entity in the body of a little boy caresses his chin with a smile, 'I see that you, too, have a Millenium Item.'

Marik reciprocates the smile and shrugs. 'What if I have?' he says nonchalantly. 'Is this illegal or something?'

'I don't know if it is illegal,' Yami Mokuba keeps smiling. 'I couldn't care less about the laws of mortals. All I want is for you to give it to me.'

Marik takes a serious expression, with the boy opposite him also losing his smile soon afterward. 'And what will I gain if I give it to you?' the blond man wonders out loud.

'You will get to escape with your life,' Yami Mokuba answers. 'Believe me, mortal, this is a big gain!'

Marik chuckles and strokes his Millenium Rod. 'I'm sorry, but I have other ideas.'

Mokuba's face hardens. It is hard for Marik to tell whether the boy has got angry or just serious.

The evil spirit is trying to decide what to do. Challenge this mortal to a Millenium Item battle? Or further try to reason with him, just in case he can solve this without unnecessary risks?

As if he has read Yami Mokuba's mind, Marik talks again, 'I will be more than happy to give you my Millenium Item. If you do something for me first. After all, I won't need it anymore when I have got what I want.'

'And what do you want?' Yami sighs, even though Marik was about to tell him anyway.

After some silence, Marik caresses his Millenium Rod again and answers, 'The God Cards.'

* * *

'THE GOD CARDS?' Pegasus snaps, jumping to his feet in shock. 'STOLEN?'

Ishizu lowers her eyes in shame. 'Unfortunately,' she gulps. 'I'm-I'm afraid that two of them have been stolen.'

'But... how?' Pegasus wonders, with his hand on his chest as a gesture of disbelief. 'You have the Millenium Item that predicts the future, Ishizu. How come you didn't you see that coming?'

Actually, Ishizu did see that coming. And, if the future had gone the way the Millenium Necklace had predicted, this would not be a problem at all. However, Ishizu guesses that this is not the right time to tell Pegasus about the future her Millenium Item predicted in the first place. Especially since, in that future, Pegasus was supposed to wind up pathologically depressed for life and, despite knowing that beforehand, Ishizu never warned him, for the sake of the greater picture!

The girl lowers her eyes to her golden artifact and caresses it. 'I'm afraid my necklace cannot see the future anymore. That is, if it could ever see it to begin with!'

Pegasus remains standing, silent and dumbfounded. 'And... and what are we supposed to do now?' he finally utters, only to realize right the next moment that this is the first time in his life that he, such a powerful and collected man, has asked someone else what he is to do!

'Well,' Ishizu sighs, with her eyes still on her precious artifact. 'The Millenium Necklace can still show me the present.'

The necklace glows, as if to confirm what its owner has just said.

'And, right now,' the girl carries on, 'my brother and another Millenium Item holder are about to arrange a...'

* * *

'... duel monsters tournament,' Marik cries, with a malicious smile. 'Now that you own KaibaCorp, I want you to use your wealth, power and resources to help me get my hands on the third God Card. A tournament here, in Domino City, which is known as the City of Games, will attract the best duelists all over the world.'

Yami lowers his eyes and smiles. Come to think of it, this isn't a bad idea at all. Such a tournament would also attract Millenium Item holders, so it would be in his own best interest as well. Still, though, he doesn't think he can trust this blond mortal.

His eyes back to Marik, with a serious expression. 'What do you seek to gain by collecting all three God Cards, mortal?' he asks.

'I'm a gamer,' Marik chuckles. 'To become the best duelist in the world, one needs to have the most powerful cards. Right?'

Yami's face hardens. This mortal is so obviously lying. Thanks to his Millenium Ring, Yami can look into Marik's heart. It is full of misery, anger and self pity. Gamer my ass! There is no way that such a person has such shallow and straightforward goals. There is definitely something else going on here.

But what? As deep in Marik's heart as Yami's Millenium Item allows the latter to look into, it still doesn't enable him to read the blond man's mind, so Yami has no way of knowing for sure that miserable soul's true objective.

Yami knows that, to open the Dark Door, one has to place the Millenium Items in the Millenium Stone. Is it possible that this is not enough after all? Is it possible that there is some additional requirement? Does this blond mortal know something that he does not? It sounds so crazy that he, Zorc's avatar in the mortal realm, might be unaware of something, let alone something that a mere mortal knows! And yet, it seems that this is the case!

In any case, Yami guesses that, for the time being, it is better to turn that Millenium Item possessor into an ally rather than an enemy. 'Fine,' Yami says out loud, smiling anew. 'Let us organize the Domino City tournament.'

Marik reciprocates the smile.

* * *

Ishizu takes out the 'Obelisk the Tormentor' card. 'This is the God Card I managed to prevent from being stolen,' she unnecessarily explains, extending her arm forward. 'And I think it is for the best to return it to its creator. You!'

Tentatively, Pegasus extends his arm as well and takes it. He recalls the process of creating those 3 damned cards. For all his efforts, for all the books he consulted, Pegasus never managed to translate the Ancient Egyptian text under the three gods' pictures in the Tablet of Lost Memories. Therefore, in the end, he just copied it on the cards exactly as it was. In other words, not even he knows the God Cards' exact power or effects!

When Pegasus collaborated with Kaiba boy's company in developing duel monsters arenas, which could produce monsters holograms, he performed secret experiments, with human lab rats using the aforementioned cards in duels. It didn't go well! Every time, before the Gods could manifest themselves into holograms, the duel arenas would malfunction and the players would be electrocuted! The electrocuted players either died on the spot or woke up after several day long comas, only to lapse into dementia, which they never recovered from.

In the end, Pegasus regretted making those cards. Many times, when sitting alone in his private office, he came close to burning them to ashes with a lighter. But he just couldn't; at the end of the day, they were his creations.

'Darn, why didn't I destroy all 3 of them back then?' the tycoon inwardly wonders, looking at the blue colored God Card. 'If I had done so, none of this would have happened.'

Ishizu interrupts his thoughts. 'It is not my place to tell you what to do with this card, Maximillion,' she says, closing her eyes and placing a hand on her chest. 'You are its creator. Do what you deem best.'

* * *

'To the Domino City tournament,' a smiling Marik extends his arm forward, offering a handshake.

'To the Domino City tournament,' Yami repeats, extending his arm as well and reciprocating the smile as well as the handshake.

'Now, to celebrate the occasion, how about we go out to have some good time?' Marik proposes.

Yami chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. Those mortals and their pitiful physical needs!

But, come to think of it, now Yami has a physical body too! Well, he has taken control of physical bodies in the past as well, but he never did so for long enough to find out what having physical needs is like, what experiencing physical pleasures is like. So far, in his millenia long life, the only pleasure he has ever experienced is the joy of watching mortals suffer. But now, now that he has a physical body all to himself, 24/7, it has just occurred to him that, at least in some respects, he has to act like a mortal!

'Okay,' the boy says to the older man. 'Let's go out and spend a crazy, wild night!'

* * *

And so, Marik and Mokuba went out. First, they went to a luxurious restaurant, where they enjoyed all kinds of delicacies. Then they went to the cinema and watched (what else?) a horror film!

Then they went to a brothel. For Marik, it wasn't the first time; ever since that pitiful excuse for a father that raised him died and he escaped that prison he grew up in, among other things, he has had his share of fun in red light districts.

For Yami, on the other hand, it was the first time. But he soon found himself into it! At the end of the day, he now has the body of a 12 year old boy! And a 12 year old boy is normally more than happy to engage in such activities! (Not that the previous owner of that body ever went that far, mind you! Mokuba was still in the 'touch yourself/explore your body' phase. But this doesn't matter, since Mokuba is no more.) At the end of that experience, Yami inwardly admitted that not all weaknesses of mortals are bad after all! Not that he would like to remain in a physical body forever for the sake of those pleasures; his mission is above all else. But still, that experience was a pleasant break.

All in all, that night, Marik and Yami had fun. Like friends. Not that they became friends or either of them had a change of heart. They still by no means trust each other. They both are still ready to backstab the other at the first opportunity!

But, for tonight, they can forget about the above. Right now, having returned to the mansion after their wild night, they are sitting at the dining room table and drinking wine. They both are drunk.

'To the... (hiccups)... Domo City tourment!' Yami cries and raises his glass.

'To the... (hiccups)... Donna City toufriment!' Marik raises his glass as well.

'Cheers,' they cry in unison and burst into laughter, clinking their glasses.

* * *

Pegasus is sitting in a seat, in the helicopter taking him back home. He is gazing outside the window, at the sun setting. Suddenly, he turns his eyes to the 'Obelisk the Tormentor' card, which he's holding in his hand. The expression on his face becomes determined. He has made up his mind.

The powerful man takes out his golden lighter with his other hand and raises it to the level of the card. He looks at his precious creation one last time. 'Farewell, Obelisk,' he says in a grim tone of voice and sets the card on fire! Then he drops it on the floor, where it is burnt to ashes.

Pegasus is looking at the aforementioned ashes with a melancholic expression. The third God Card is no more!


	25. Zorc and Pals

The drunk Yami Mokuba is sleeping, with his head buried between his arms on the table. He's moaning in his sleep.

Suddenly, he hears a drawl. A feeble but eerie drawl that sounds as if it is coming from far away.

_Florence..._

Yami mumbles something and turns his head to the side, without waking up. The drawl is heard again.

_Florence..._

Once more, Yami ignores it.

Suddenly, he feels that someone is shaking him violently. As he is slowly waking up, mumbling expletives, he realizes that the voice now sounds louder from before. And different. It is the voice of a stand up comedian or something. 'FLORENCE, WILL YOU FINALLY WAKE THE FUCK UP?'

With a gasp, Yami raises up back into a sitting position and sees Marik. So he is the one who has been shaking him and speaking in his ear all this time!

'WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT, MARIK?' the spirit in the body of a 12 year old boy snaps, indignant.

'It's time for our council,' Marik smiles at him and walks over back to his chair.

Yami scratches his head. 'Our... council?' he wonders, confused.

'Precisely, Florence,' Marik takes a seat, with his arms and legs crossed, still smiling.

'Why... why are you calling me Florence?' Yami asks, still confused.

Marik bursts into laughter. 'Oh, come on, Florence, quit jokes.' And, wiping a laughter produced tear, he carries on, this time talking to himself, 'Oh, that Florence. He's so... Florence!'

'What... what the hell is going on here?' Yami wonders out loud, shaking his head in disbelief.

Marik's face hardens. 'Okay, Florence, enough of your jokes. You're not funny anymore!'

'He's right, Florence,' a booming voice resonates across the hall. 'I don't find you funny either!' It sounds like the voice of a gargantuan crybaby.

Yami gaps. The boy slowly turns his head in surprise as a catchy theme song coming from god knows where resonates across the room.

_Who's that crazy cook destroying the world? It's Zorc! (That's me!) It's Zorc and pals._

_The blood of the innocent will flow without end. His name is Zorc and he's destroying the world!_

'ZORC!' the 12 year old boy gasps. 'What are you doing here?'

'A better question would be what are YOU doing here, Florence,' the gargantuan, black monster replies, without opening its mouth. 'I thought we were going to destroy the world together.'

A laughtrack coming from god knows where is heard.

'You have been neglecting me so much recently,' Zorc sobs, oblivious to the laughtrack. 'We hardly ever destroy the world together anymore!'

A laughtrack is heard again.

'Zorc, it's not that simple,' Yami pinches his nose. 'I mean, you can't just go out and destroy the world like that. _(Laughtrack.)_ Well, you can, but it's hardly fun at all. You have to do it in a more cunning and complicated way. You know, deceiving people, playing shadow games, stalking pharaohs from the ancient past. Pharaohs who just refuse to die... just as everybody else in this show, I guess.'

'See? That's what I was talking about,' Zorc cries. 'You're not the same man I married. Where is the old Florence? The Florence I knew? The one whom I would just destroy the world with without unnecessarily overthinking about it?' _(Laughtrack.)_

'We've been through this, Zorc,' Yami sighs. 'We're not married. We have an open relationship.'

'Oh, really?' Zorc asks sarcastically. 'And what about our son?'

'It is not proven that he's my son,' Yami argues.

'Still in denial?' Zorc sighs, obviously hurt. 'But he looks almost exactly like you. I mean, look at him! Look at him standing over there, in the arms of his adoptive mother.'

'You gave him up for adoption?' Yami gasps, surprised.

'What did you expect?' Zorc cries. 'You just walked away and I couldn't raise him all by myself.'

Yami turns his head and sees... Rebecca Hawkins holding her teddy bear!

'Say hello to your real parents, Teddy,' she babytalks and raises the stuffed doll to the level of her face.

'Jesus is a motherfucker and fucks Holy Mary everyday. All hail Satan,' the teddy bear talks in a creepy, distorted voice.

'Ain't he an adorable little cutie patootie?' Rebecca giggles.

'SILENCE!' Marik reminds everybody of his presence by slamming a hammer (which he seemingly produced out of nowhere) down on the table. 'Let our meeting commence!'

'Is everybody here?' Zorc wonders.

'Let me check,' Marik produces a list and, with his eyes on it, begins calling.

'Yami.'

'Here,' Yami raises his hand in boredom.

'Teddy.'

'Jesus has orgies with the apostles. The troops of demons shall conquer the Earth,' Teddy cries in a demonic voice, as a way of declaring his presence.

'Weevil.'

'Here,' Weevil Underwood says, chuckling like an idiot for no reason.

'Yeah, here,' Rex Raptor says, before Marik can call his name, chuckling in the same ludicrous manner as his blue haired peer.

'Wait, why are those two here, Marik?' Yami points towards the two teenagers. 'I thought this was a council for villains only. Those are more like anti heroes.'

'I decide whom to invite to my council,' Marik snaps.

'Hehe, don't worry,' Weevil keeps chuckling. 'We're here just for the chicks.'

'Yeah, the chicks, hehe,' Rex agrees. 'So where are the chicks?'

'Hey, Rex, look over there. A chick!' Weevil cries, pointing at Rebecca.

'Wow, she's hot,' Rex drools.

'I'm a kid,' Rebecca says indifferently, batting her eyes innocently.

'She's quite a hottie,' Weevil comments, oblivious to what Rebecca said.

'Still a kid,' Rebecca says.

'I think we're gonna score tonight,' Rex adds, also oblivious to what Rebecca said.

'Those two guys are freaks,' Rebecca comments. 'Don't you agree, Teddy?'

'Jesus and Magdalene are 69ing each other. Bow before Lucifer,' Teddy replies.

'Teddy says yes,' Rebecca addresses the two boys.

'Er hem,' Marik tries to draw attention anew, with his eyes closed in annoyance. 'Can you guys please be pedos in your leisure time?'

'Hello, little girl,' Pegasus, who has just arrived, cheerfully greets Rebecca. 'Do you like sausages? Cause I have a big one in my pants.'

'Pegasus! What did I just say?' Marik snaps.

'That I'm fabulous?' Pegasus guesses.

Marik facepalms.

'I feel sad,' Zorc notes. 'There is so much NOT destroying the world going on around here.'_ (Laughtrack.)_

'Okay, all of you, enough of your bullshit,' Marik cries. 'If you are done, may we please proceed with the meeting? It's time to find a way to defeat Yugi Muto.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in an unspecified place, Yugi is standing on the edge of a cliff, with his arms crossed and a haughty expression. He's currently in his Yami mode. His multicolored hair is gracefully waving, even though no air is blowing. A song coming from nowhere is heard.

_He's a pharaoh winning card games, through the break of dawn._

_Don't worry about the rules, cause he's gonna screw them all._

_Ohh, super special awesome._

_Minor characters suck (yes sir!)_

_Cause card games flow through him (Yugi Muto!)_

_Super special awesome!_

Some silence follows the song.

Finally, Yugi speaks. 'I spy with my little eye a bunch of minor characters trying to destroy me. Hah! Losers!'

Joey approaches him. 'Nyeh?' he asks. _(Translation: Yugi, where are the rest of our friends?)_

With his arms still crossed, Yugi turns his head to Joey. 'In the detention room, Joey,' he answers. 'I have grounded them all for using stupid catchphrases.'

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the detention room..._

Mai and one of Pegasuses guards (the brown haired one) point at each other.

'My boobs wonder why you talk about your hair all the time,' Mai says, in a voice that is obviously that of a man trying to sound like a woman.

'My hair wonders why you talk about your boobs all the time,' the guard says.

Ishizu, who is sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, answers, 'The answer to both your questions is because shut up!' She, too, sounds like a man trying to sound like a woman.

Bandit Keith, who is leaning against a wall, with his arms crossed, says, 'I don't care about any of this. In America!'

* * *

'So,' Marik tries to finally begin the session. 'To defeat Yugi Muto, we need the most powerful, the most destructive weapon in the universe.'

'Which is?' Yami Mokuba raises an eyebrow.

Marik remains silent for a while, for the sake of drama, with a drumroll sound coming from nowhere. He trains his eyes forward, without looking at anyone in particular nonetheless. Finally, he answers, 'Ariana Grande's ponytail!'

Marik goes silent anew, deeming it appropriate to wait for those words to sink in. Yami blinks. Zorc blinks (well, he can't close his eyes, but he did so inwardly). Pegasus gasps (he loves ponytails).

'Oh, yeah, ponytails,' Weevil drawls and chuckles for no reason.

'Yeah, ponytails,' Rex chuckles for no reason as well.

'I'm a kid,' Rebecca nonchalantly strokes her teddy bear.

'Are you... fucking serious?' Yami finally utters.

'Dead serious, Florence,' Marik answers, stroking his Millennium Rod. 'Ariana Grande's ponytail holds the answers to all secrets in the universe. Whoever possess that ponytail becomes omnipotent.'

'But how will we convince Ariana Grande to collaborate with us?' Zorc wonders. 'She's too busy hating Americans and licking donuts.'

'Well,' Marik begins, scratching his chin, troubled. 'I could use my Millennium Rod to brainwash her.'

'Doesn't your Millennium Rod work only on persons named Steve?' Pegasus brings up.

Marik sweatdrops.

'And even if you could brainwash her, she still wouldn't be able to help us, because using real life celebrities is against Fanfiction Net's rules,' Yami points out.

Marik sweatdrops again. Silence. 'Okay, now I feel bad,' he finally says.

* * *

Yugi is still standing on the edge of the cliff. 'Heh. They have failed,' he cries. 'As I expected. Nobody can defeat me as long as I have the most powerful card ever made. Whoever has this card always wins.'

'Nyeh?' Joey asks.

'I'm serious, Joey. Here it is,' Yugi produces a card and shows it to Joey.

'Nyeh,' Joey notes. _(Translation: This is not the most powerful card ever made, Yug. This is not even a card to begin with. It's just a blank piece of paper on which you wrote the 'This is the most powerful card ever made' sentence.)_

Yugi's face hardens. 'You doubt the pharaoh's word, peasant?' he asks.

'Nyeh,' Joey answers. _(Translation: Yes.)_

Yugi's face further hardens. 'Wanna wind up in the detention room?' he asks.

'Nyeh,' Joey replies.

'Okay, that does it,' Yugi snorts.

* * *

Joey is in the detention room, curled up on the floor in a fetal position.

'My hair wonders how you ended up here, dude,' Pegasuses guard says.

'My boobs wonder the same thing,' Mai adds.

'The answer is still the same,' Ishizu answers. 'Because shut up!'

'Nyeh,' Joey cries. _(Translation: Leave me alone.)_

'I hate you all, suckers. In America!' Bandit Keith says.

* * *

Yugi is still standing on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the sunset. 'I wonder where Kaiba is,' he thinks.

* * *

In some unspecified place, Kaiba is on a stage, dressed like a rock star and holding a microphone and singing:

_Screw the vagina, I have a vagina, screw the vagina, I have a vagina, screw the vagina, I have a vagina, screw the vagina, I have a vagina..._

* * *

A sun ray penetrates the window and falls on Yami Mokuba, causing him to wake up. For real this time. He clutches his forehead in pain and dizziness.

An empty, turned over bottle of wine is on the table. Marik is sleeping across from him.

What a freaky dream that was! So these are the effects that alcohol has on physical bodies. Yami makes a mental note to never drink alcohol again.


	26. A Mysterious Duelist

The duel arena is bathed in the blue light coming from the spotlights. The audience sitting in the stands is rooting for either of the two duelists. This is such an exciting battle.

'LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,' the commentator's voice resonates throughout the stadium. 'THE EUROPEAN DUEL MONSTERS CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL HAS REACHED A CRUCIAL POINT. WHO WILL WALK AWAY WITH THE TITLE IN THE END?'

The two finalists are standing at the duel arena, across from each other. On the left side of the arena, Sir William Firewall, from England. A black guy dressed in a tuxedo. On the right side, Robert Schmeichel, from Germany. He has short, blond, curly hair. He's wearing a white jacket and blue jeans.

Robert is the new phenomenon in the duel monsters world. Totally unknown up until a few weeks ago, he arose from nowhere and, winning one duel after the other, reached the final of the European Championship taking place in Finland! However, in this match, the final match, he seems to be having a hard time.

His opponent, William, has a huge, tough looking monster on his field, a nameless creature that looks like a giant wolf with a mane or something. The aforementioned monster has just destroyed one of Robert's creatures, thus decreasing the German's life points to 150.

'Hah. Let me see you make a comeback now,' William cries, elated, having forgotten about his British phlegm. He has 800 life points left.

Robert has a face down card on the field and 2 cards in his hand. He sighs and closes his eyes. 'This is the only monster left in my hand,' he admits, in a German accent, and shows the opponent a card depicting a green, serpent like dragon with 1600 ATK points and 1500 DEF points.

'Thunder Dragon?' William scoffs. 'Hah? It's far from enough. Is this a way of admitting defeat, blond boy?'

Robert opens his eyes wide, a determined look in them. 'Do you know what is better than one Thunder Dragon?' he asks rhetorically. And, without waiting for a response, he proceeds to activate that monster's effect, discarding it to the graveyard in order to add two copies of that card from his deck to his hand. 'TWO THUNDER DRAGONS,' he bellows, answering himself.

'Still not enough,' William chuckles, with a bead of sweat appearing on his cheek nonetheless; he knows that two Thunder Dragons can be fused, though he's trying not to show his agitation. Let's just hope that the blond boy doesn't have a Polymerization card!

Indeed he doesn't. In his hand, that is! The face down card on the field, though, is a different story!

'I ACTIVATE MY FACE DOWN CARD. POLYMERIZATION!'

William gasps as the two Thunder Dragons in Robert's hand are fused to form the Twin Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100). A giant, red, two headed, flying dragon with a purple horn on each head. The creature lands on the arena with a flap of its wings, a roar and a thud.

William gulps. 'It's okay,' he thinks. 'Even if he destroys my monster, I can still win.'

'The duel is over right now,' Robert cries, as if to reply to his opponent's thought.

'What?' William gasps as his opponent shows him the last card left in his hand, which he activates while he is at it.

'HORN OF THUNDER,' Robert haughtily speaks the card's name. **(ORIGINAL CARD)** A green card depicting a horn surrounded by sparks. On cue, sparks appear around both horns of the Twin Headed Thunder Dragon. This equip spell card does not make the equipped monster any stronger in terms of ATK or DEF, but it does something else, something really interesting.

'The-the damage,' William stutters. 'The damage inflicted to my life points by an electric, horned monster equipped with this card is doubled! I LOST!'

Robert smiles and winks. 'THUNDER DRAGON, ATTACK!' he subsequently yells, unnecessarily pointing a finger.

The dragon gathers energy, which coalesces into two bright spheres above either of its horns. Finally, it fires. William's monster is destroyed and his life points decrease to zero.

'WE HAVE A NEW EUROPEAN CHAMPION,' the commentator cries as the crowd goes wild. 'IT'S ROBERT SCHMEICHEL, FROM GERMANY!'

The two finalists get off the arena and walk over to the stage where the closing ceremony will take place.

'You are an amazing duelist,' William smiles and offers his hand.

Robert reciprocates the smile as well as the handshake.

Holding the trophy that will be awarded to the winner, a special surprise guest gets on the stage as well: 'MOKUBA KAIBA, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE YOUNGEST AND PERHAPS THE RICHEST HEIR IN THE WORLD,' the commentator cries amid the audience's cheers.

The little boy gives Robert the golden cup. 'Congratulations,' he smiles. He's wearing his formal outfit for the occasion: a white blazer, trousers the same color, a purple shirt and a blue tie.

'It's an honor to be awarded by you, sir,' Robert closes his eyes and bows in a Japanese fashion which indicates that he has studied eastern countries customs.

Mokuba produces a microphone and turns to the audience. 'And now, ladies and gentlemen, an important announcement. Soon, in Japan, in Domino City, the city also known as the mother of all games, a duel monsters tournament shall take place, organized by KaibaCorp. The Battle City tournament!'

After a few seconds, which it took Mokuba's words to sink in, the crowd goes wild anew.

The underage president of the multi billion company turns back to the newly crowned European champion and addresses him. 'Although anyone who ranks high enough in the duelists database can participate anyway, I would like to officially invite you to the tournament, Robert.'

'Umm, it is an honor, Mister Kaiba,' Robert drawls awkwardly, trying to come up with an excuse to reject the invitation. 'But... umm... I...'

'Er hem,' someone clears their throat, in the stands, among the audience, amid the cheers of the other people around.

Despite all those incredibly loud sounds flooding the stadium, Robert somehow managed to hear that person clearing their throat! He turns his head to the stands, raises his eyes and looks at the aforementioned person. He is sitting with his arms and legs crossed. A hood conceals his face, but, from some red hair protruding, one would say that he is... Kaiba! Seto Kaiba! Mokuba's brother!

In any case, Robert somehow manages to discern, under the hood, a meaningful glare. Having got the message, he turns to Mokuba anew and resumes, 'I would be more than glad to come to Japan and compete in the Battle City tournament.'

'I guessed so,' Mokuba responds with an enigmatic smile.

* * *

Yugi and Rebecca are sitting in the former's room, on the floor, and watching on tv the final match of the European Championship.

'That Robert guy is awesome, isn't he?' Yugi remarks, excited. He's sitting cross legged. He's wearing his usual student uniform and white socks.

'Not bad,' Rebecca admits half heartedly, being way less modest than her peer. She is wearing a red t-shirt, a light blue skirt and pink, almost knee high socks. She's lying in a lateral position, with her elbow resting on a pillow and her hand supporting her head. Her hair is tied in a casual ponytail.

Her grandfather, Arthur, left for another archaeological expedition some time ago, but Rebecca somehow managed to convince him to let her stay with the Mutos for a little while! No, don't think of anything naughty just because she and Yugi are hanging out in the same room right now; at night, she sleeps in the guest room!

Yugi is looking at the tv screen, with a troubled expression on his face. Something about Mokuba feels wrong. Has that 12 year old boy even realized that, not long ago, his older brother went missing? Why is he acting as if things couldn't be better?

Rebecca snaps her fingers right in front of the boy's face, thus interrupting his thoughts. Yugi cries in startlement.

'HEY, YUGI,' Rebecca snaps, annoyed. 'I've been talking to you for a good two minutes! Where is your mind wandering?'

'Umm, I'm sorry, Rebecca,' the male teenager closes his eyes and pinches his nose. 'I was thinking about... the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He's been going through some sort of existential crisis lately, which is why I have arranged for him and Tea to go out tonight.'

Although this was not really what Yugi was thinking about a moment ago, he did not lie when he said that his partner from Ancient Egypt doesn't feel himself lately. And indeed, he hopes that Tea will help Yami Yugi sort his thoughts out.

'A date?' Rebecca takes a meaningful expression and leans towards Normal Yugi.

The boy blushes and gulps. 'Umm, no, nothing like that, you misunderst...'

'I'M IN!' Rebecca jumps to her feet and claps. 'I'm going to put on something more appropriate.' And, running out of the room, heading to hers, she cries, 'WHOO HOO, a double date. Me, Tea and the two Yugis! This is going to be so much fun!'

Yugi is left speechless!

'Double date? Who invited her?' a male voice, deeper than that of Normal Yugi, is heard. An annoyed voice, that is!

Yugi gulps once more. Slowly and tentatively, he turns his head and sees the immaterial spirit of Yami Yugi standing next to him, with his arms crossed. He's wearing the same clothes as his partner from the modern world (well, he's not actually wearing anything, since, as I said, he's immaterial, but, by convention, that immaterial image of him that appears whenever the two Yugis converse in private always appears to wear the same clothes that Yugi wears at the respective time).

'First, you arrange a date, or whatever you want to call it, between me and Tea, without asking me first,' Yami Yugi reprimands Normal Yugi. 'And now... THIS?'

'Umm, I apologize, partner,' Yugi lowers his eyes and scratches his head in shame. 'I swear I didn't plan for this to happen.'

Yami Yugi sighs, with his arms still crossed. 'You know, it's a good thing your puppy eyes are so adorable. Otherwise, I would have mind crushed you by now,' he jokes.

* * *

Robert Schmeichel enters his room in the hotel close to where the European Duel Monsters Championship took place.

The person from before is sitting on a chair, arms and legs crossed this time as well, right in front of the door of the room, as if he has been waiting for Robert. On second thought, scratch out 'as if'; he has been waiting for him indeed!

As soon as the German enters, he cries and flinches in startlement. He places his hand on his chest. 'You almost gave me a heart attack,' he protests. 'I'd appreciate it if you stopped doing that!'

'And I'd appreciate it if you stopped taking so many initiatives,' the figure replies and lowers his hood, confirming our suspicions. He is Seto Kaiba indeed!

Except something about him doesn't seem right. That look in his eyes... that look of madness and instability... it reminds us of the old Kaiba. The person that Seto used to be long ago, back before Yugi defeated him in a duel and cleansed his soul of all those negative emotions that clouded his judgement.

'Need I remind you that you owe to me all you are?' Kaiba carries on. 'Before abandoning my company, I took a few million dollars with me. Which I kindly put at your disposal! Without my money, without my resources, without my cards and, most importantly, without my tutelage, you would be nothing. You would be a no name living on the street, begging for some change and sleeping next to his very own poo!'

Robert gulps. 'Y-yes, sir. I remember,' he stutters.

'Then do as I say,' Kaiba snaps, uncrossing his legs, leaning forward and steepling his fingers around his nose and mouth. 'Go and win the Battle City tournament.'

'Y-yes, sir,' Robert gulps anew.

'Good,' Kaiba smiles. 'I'm glad we understand each other. I hope you also remember what awaits you in case you lose!'

'I-I remember,' Robert stutters.


	27. Double Date

It's late in the afternoon in Domino City. With her back leaning against a wall, Tea is waiting for Yugi. She's wearing a yellow crop top, a pink skirt, sandals the same color and black stockings. She feels so nervous.

'Get a hold of yourself, girl,' she inwardly scolds herself. 'You are being ridiculous.'

She doesn't know what makes her more nervous: the fact that Yugi will soon show up, moreover in his macho, Yami form, or the presence of the 12 year old, self invited guest?

'Yugi muffin is gonna arrive soon,' Rebecca small talks, casually looking around with her arms behind her back. She's wearing a red crop top, a black skirt and flip flops. Her hair is loose. For the occasion, she has replaced her glasses with contact lenses.

'Aren't you a little too young to dress like that?' Tea wonders out loud.

Rebecca turns to her. 'Look who's talking,' she retorts.

'Well, for your information, I'm 16,' Tea snaps.

'Yet you play duel monsters as if you were 5,' the blonde girl quips.

Silence. Charged silence. The two girls exchange glares.

Yugi, who is meanwhile approaching, can almost see the gag sparks shooting out of the two girls' eyes!

'Oh, boy,' he sighs and closes his eyes. 'Good luck, partner,' he says before he goes deep in his subconscious, thus allowing his other self to surface.

The taller Yugi looks forward, at the two girls looking at each other with killer eyes. He sweatdrops.

'You owe me one for that, Yugi,' he mumbles.

After some hesitation, he sighs. 'Here we go,' he whispers and starts walking over to the girls. 'TEA, REBECCA, OVER HERE,' he calls out and raises a hand to draw their attention.

Poor Yugi!

* * *

Pegasus is sitting at his private office, in his mansion. On a swivel chair. With his legs crossed. Majestically but with a grim expression.

The only source of light in the room is the lighter, whose button its owner lazily and aimlessly presses again and again. As a result, the room goes from dimly lit to dark and vice versa.

The same lighter that Pegasus used to burn to ashes one of the three God Cards, a few days ago. Obelisk the Tormentor. Believe him, guys, this hurt him more than it hurt the card! But, after long and serious thought, he had deduced that there was no alternative.

Perhaps now the ancient battle that started 3000 years ago will never truly be resolved. Perhaps the pharaoh's spirit will never be able to rest in peace. But at least the world is safe. I mean, without the three God Cards, nobody will be able to open the dark door and claim that dangerous power.

Of course, Marik and whatever possesses Mokuba will organize the Battle City tournament anyway, being unaware that the third God Card is no more. But, whatever the result of that tournament is, without the last God Card, as I said, no dark power from the ancient past will threaten the world, at least not on a large scale.

And who knows what Ishizu will opt to do? Will she participate? Will she muster the guts to try to win a duel without the help of her Millennium Item? Will she try to save her brother? Pegasus guesses that none of this is his concern anymore; he did what he had to do and that's about it.

Pegasuses thoughts are interrupted when someone enters the office. Mai!

'Honey, are you coming to bed?' the blonde woman asks, with a mixture of guilt and lust in her eyes. She's dressed in a sexy babydoll.

'In a minute,' the white haired tycoon replies indifferently, with his eyes fixed on the lighter produced flame.

Mai snorts. 'Okay,' she responds, trying not to show her annoyance, turns around and walks away, still in a sexy manner nonetheless, albeit unintentionally this time.

* * *

First, the trio went to a cafeteria.

Right now, Yami Yugi is opening his heart to the two girls. He's telling them about his inner need to discover his past. That, as much as he likes his life in the modern world, as many friends as he has got to make here, he does not belong here. Besides, this is the best for his partner too; I mean, if Yami Yugi never leaves, Normal Yugi will never truly stand on his own two feet.

Without having really been listening to what Yugi is saying, Tea and Rebecca are glaring at each other, as if to wordlessly say to each other, 'Back off, bitch, he's mine.' From time to time, one girl or the other will place her hand on that of Yugi on the table, supposedly unconsciously but actually on purpose, only for the other girl to realize it and, right away, place her own hand on Yugi's as well, trying to push away the other girl's hand while she's at it. Such 'hand battles' become more and more frequent as time passes.

However, there is only so much that even a gentleman like Yugi can take.

'OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!' he snaps at some point and jumps to his feet, startling the two girls, who gasp. Even some people from the nearby tables interrupted their respective conversations and turned their heads.

Silence now prevails in the store.

With Rebecca and Tea still looking at him with their eyes widened in shock, Yugi closes his eyes and pinches his nose. 'I'm sorry, girls,' he says, now in a lower voice. 'But it is obvious that you cannot help me. Your mind is just... elsewhere.'

The boy leaves on the table enough money to pay for all three beverages (as a true gentleman), turns around and walks away. The place is still so silent that his footsteps resonate across the shop!

Tea and Rebecca exchange guilty looks.

* * *

Still in his Yami form, Yugi is walking on the streets, aimlessly, with his hands in his pockets and a melancholic expression on his handsome face.

At some point, he happens to be passing by Domino City's museum. Well, the sun has almost set by now, so Yugi guesses it's clos... No, wait, it's open! How... come?

Yugi stops in front of the imposing building, raises his surprised eyes and sees a beautiful, dark skinned woman standing at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance. She's dressed in a white, archaic outfit. She has a blank expression. As if she has been waiting for him.

And, indeed, as it turns out the next moment: 'I have been waiting for you, pharaoh,' the woman says, closes her eyes, places her palm on her chest and bows, in a manner that I'm not sure whether is modern Japanese or ancient Egyptian. 'My name is Ishizu Ishtar.'

* * *

In a dark, unidentified room, Marik is standing in the shadows, with the moonlight coming in through the window being the only source of light that renders his figure somewhat visible. Another, taller figure is standing next to him. The latter's face is completely concealed by a hood.

Yami Mokuba enters the aforementioned room. 'Everything is ready, fellows,' he cries, rubbing his hands together in excitement. 'Soon, a giant screen showing my face will fly above Domino City and the Battle City tournament will be announced.'

'Will you, too, participate?' Marik asks.

'I don't know,' Yami shrugs. 'In any case, here are eighteen locator cards so that all three of us will be in the finals if it is needed.' The 12 year old boy produces eighteen transparent cards.

Marik chuckles. With his arms crossed and his back leaning against a wall, he turns his head to the man next to him. 'Did you hear that, Odeon?' he says. 'We already are in the finals. Without having to duel at all at the first round!'

Odeon removes his hood, revealing his bald, tattooed face. 'On your command, Master Marik, I will crush any enemy that stands between us and our goals,' he says, closes his eyes, places his hand on his chest and bows.

'As if you had any other choice,' Marik chuckles threateningly.

Odeon takes a sad expression. No, come to think of it, he had this sad expression all along. He is not afraid or upset or offended because of his master's words. He's just sad to see his brother like this. The blond boy may act cool, as if his spirits were high, but the truth is that, deep down inside, Marik is a mess of sorrow, frustration and hatred, hatred of others as well as of himself! And he has been like that since he was a little child. A poor child whom life was cruel to.

It pains Odeon to know that his brother will probably remain like that forever, that there is nothing he can do to help him. Even this condition, though, is preferable to his... other self. An evil entity whose existence Marik is unaware of, but Odeon is totally aware of. A being dwelling in Marik's subconscious. A being whom Marik is sharing his body with, unbeknownst to the latter. A being born of the evil generated in Marik's heart as a result of years of abuse. The being who, years ago, murdered their father!

That's why Odeon must stay by his brother's side and keep doing his bidding. To prevent that other self from resurfacing. Because, as wrong as the things Odeon has to do for Marik are, they are a lesser evil compared to what that other Marik is capable of. For the sake of the world, he must not let that demon wake up again!

* * *

Night. Yami Yugi is gazing at the horizon, with his elbows resting on a bridge railing.

'So, how did it go?' Normal Yugi asks him in his mind.

'I don't want to talk about it,' the other Yugi replies.

Those things that Ishizu maiden told him earlier about a battle that raged in Ancient Egypt 3000 years ago and almost destroyed the world. And that stone tablet she showed him. All those things confused him more than they helped him.

'Hey, Yugi,' a shy, female voice interrupts his thoughts.

The lad turns around and sees Tea and Rebecca.

'We have been looking for you,' Rebecca says.

'Look, we're sorry about before,' Tea lowers her eyes and strokes her nape, blushing a little. 'We promise that, if you give us another chance, we will listen to you.'

'Thanks, girls,' Yugi melancholically leans his back against the railing. 'But, at the end of the day, you cannot give me the answers I seek.'

Rebecca takes a determined expression. 'You need no answers, boy,' she says and gives him a friendly punch on the shoulder. 'What does it matter who you were or what happened a bazillion years ago? Now you are here, with us, and that's all there is to it. Enjoy your life with us.'

'But I don't belong in this world,' Yugi tosses his head back and sighs.

Tea takes hold of Yugi's head and moves it, thus forcing him to look at her (she can't believe she has become that daring!) She looks him seriously in the eye. 'You belong where you feel you belong,' she says.

Yugi smiles at her, tentatively.

Rebecca unintentionally ruins that moment with her pre teen spontaneity. 'It will all work out great, guys,' she cries, claps and bounces cheerfully. 'Tea will be dating you and I will be dating the other Yugi. It will be so much fun!'

Yugi and Tea both blush big time. Oh, Rebecca!

That moment, Yugi steps away from Tea and takes a concerned expression.

Tea raises an eyebrow.

'What's wrong, Yug?' Rebecca asks, moving a lock of hair away from her eyes.

Yugi has just noticed that a crowd has gathered around here. Among this crowd, there are a lot of old acquaintances of his. And I'm not referring to the kind of old acquaintances one would be happy to see again, mind you! Weevil Underwood. Rex Raptor. That zombie guy Joey fought (was his name Bonz or something?) Most of them are staring at Yugi, with their eyes full of vengeance.

The two girls direct their gaze towards where Yugi is looking and gasp.

'What are all those freaks doing here?' Tea wonders out loud.

'Aren't most of those guys famous duelists?' Rebecca scratches her head. 'I have seen photos of them in magazines.'

Suddenly, helicopter sounds are heard. Mokuba's face appears on a giant screen. 'GREETINGS, DUELISTS,' his voice resonates through the city. 'It's time to officially announce that the Battle City tournament shall commence in a few days.'

Yugi gasps. So that's why all those duelists are here. They were expecting to hear the official announcement. And Yugi just happened to be passing by? He can't believe this! His dueling instincts are incredible!

* * *

**Author note: I regret to inform you that it will probably be a long time before I update again. I need to rewatch the Battle City Saga to remember some stuff and decide on some details as to how exactly that saga will play out in my story. Also, most importantly, there is stuff in real life I need to sort out. So... farewell.**


End file.
